Send me a Lover
by prsweetie
Summary: NEW SUMMARY! All she wanted was for him to look at her as more than just one of the guys. What does she do when the one she needs is not the one she wants? OC, Trish, Stephanie, Batista, Randy, Paul, John, Rebecca
1. Chapter 1

_I have decided to try my hand at writing again. As always, I owe none of the characters except for Vanessa, who is mine. I'm taking a stab at a story that has been in my head for awhile now. For the purpose of the story, Trish has not retired. As always, I love reviews and feedback. Please enjoy….._

* * *

"Right now, I'm just trying to be strong for Paul and the baby. He's having a really hard time going through rehab and I'm having an even hard time raising two babies. Did you know that the man watches Fairly Odd Parents? How did I miss that tidbit of information when I married him?"

"Steph, Timmy is the man and Wanda and Cosmo are always helping him. It's a good show."

"Not helping, Ness."

Vanessa Suarez laughed at the exasperated voice of her boss and friend, Stephanie McMahon. Staying at home with her ailing husband was turning out to be more challenging then the Billon Dollar Princess ever anticipated. Stephanie and Vanessa became good friends two years prior when Vanessa was offered a job on the creative writing staff with the WWE. Both women were strong, honest and independent making them instant friends. Now with Paul's injury, most of their business meetings and heart to hearts were via email and phone.

"Sorry, girlie. Anyway, I should be mad at Paul for getting injured. Now I'm the one that has to deliver the bad news to everyone, which by the way, I am not looking forward to." Vanessa faintly heard a noise in the background. "Which baby was that?"

Stephanie sighed dramatically. "The big one. Let me go. Call me after Raw. Trust me, I'll be awake."

Vanessa hung up the phone and headed into the arena. Sometimes she really thought she was one of the luckiest girls in the world. She had her dream job working for a company that she had been an admirer of for all of her 24 years of living. She had some of the greatest friends in the world, even if they were a little crazy sometimes. The only thing that was missing was a good man in her life. But until that day comes, Vanessa decided that she was going to have fun by herself, with herself. Judging by the stack of batteries in her bag, she was always having a load of fun.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Vanessa jumped and swung around to be face to face with someone that she considered somewhat of a father figure.

"Jesus Mark, are you trying to kill me?" Mark aka Undertaker chuckled softly. "Not at all darlin'. Just seems to me that someone would have to pry you out of that fantasy world of yours."

"I wasn't in a fantasy world. I was…never mind. What are you up to?" Vanessa and Mark made their way passed a crowd of workers and sat down on a trunk. Mark was one of the first guys in the company to give Vanessa respect and he watched after her. When you have the approval of the big dog in the locker room, everyone else seems to follow.

"Just left a meeting with Vince about Mania." Everyone had heard the rumors that this was going to be Mark's last year with the company. Vanessa hoped it wasn't true. She would miss having Mark around for pep talks and bike rides.

"So have you decided if you are staying or going?" Mark looked down at Vanessa with a soft smile, "Guess you'll have to wait and see." With a wink, Mark stood and headed down the hallway.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and smiled. That's Mark for you, can never give you a straight answer if his life depended on it.

As Vanessa approached the cafeteria, she paused and fought the urge to not throw up in her own mouth. Standing in front of her sharing saliva was none other than Dave Bautista and Diva Search reject Rebecca DiPietro. Once upon a time Dave and Vanessa were the best of friends, often hanging out with Paul and Steph. Vanessa always hoped that one day she would get a chance to wrap her legs around the 300-pound "Animal", but that never happened. While they often flirted with one another, nothing ever came out of it. Then Dave started dating Rebecca and slowly their friendship took a backseat to their courtship. Vanessa always thought that Rebecca was just using Dave for more airtime, but she would never say it out loud for fear of people thinking that she was actually jealous of the dim witted slut.

"Fuck, get a room already. Trust me, I am sure Becky hear knows of every hotel in the country that has an hourly rate."

Vanessa looked over at Trish with amusement. Being subtle was never Trish's strong suit, especially when it came to the dozens of Diva Search girls who seemed to take up valuable airtime doing minimal things. Dave pried his mouth from Rebecca for the first time realizing that they seemed to have an audience.

"Jealous, Stratus?"

Trish rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Hardly. Tell your trick bitch to go visit Oz and buy her dumb ass a brain and then maybe I'll be jealous."

Rebecca walked over to Trish and pointed her index finger. "I am very smart Trish."

"Putting on a pair of glasses and picking up a book for a Playboy photo shoot does not make you smart sweetie. God Dave, you could have had any girl in the world and yet you are running around with this piece of silicone."

"Whatever. At least he's with me and not some one that will bring his image down like Vanessa."

At the sound of her name Dave looked up and made eye contact with Vanessa. Truth be told, he missed her tremendously, even though he would never admit it. When he started dating Rebecca, she made him promise that he would try to maintain a distance from Vanessa and he had obliged. Probably because she had her lips wrapped around his dick as she made her request. Dave was snapped out his thoughts when someone's fist connected with his gut.

"Damn, Trish, what the fuck was that for?"

"That's for being a spineless asshole. There was a time that you would have never let anyone talk about Ness that way. Now look what you have become. I hope you dick falls off and gets lodge in that bitch's throat."

"Vanessa's a big girl; she can take care of herself."

Trish pointed down the now hallway. "Really, then why did her eyes fill up with tears when you didn't have the balls to defend her?" Trish shook her head and went down to follow Vanessa, leaving Dave looking confused and Rebecca satisfied.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the review guys. I am really starting to get a feel for the direction this story is going for. Please enjoy._

* * *

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could I have been so damn sensitive at that point in time? If he didn't know before, he damn sure knows now. Why did I have to lose control like that, especially in front of her? DAMN IT!!!_

Vanessa paced the floor of an empty locker room while she tried to get her thoughts in order. Of course it bothered her that Dave and her were no longer friends, she was hoping it bothered him as well. However, judging from his lack of reaction, Vanessa was really starting to doubt the validity of their friendship. How can a man who was once her biggest confidant become someone that she barely knew. Vanessa was so deep in her thoughts; she didn't realize that she had an audience.

"You keep pacing like that and the floor is gonna cave in, sweetie." Trish shut the door and sat down on the bench. Trish and Stephanie had become worried about Vanessa over the past couple months and judging by her reaction today, they had the right to be. Even though Vanessa would never admit, the girl knew there was more to Vanessa's disappointment then loss of a friendship.

"I can't believe I let her get to me." Vanessa plopped down beside Trish and ran her fingers through her long black hair.

"I can't believe that Dave didn't even have the balls to defend you. Spineless bastard."

"I shouldn't blame Dave for this. I should've defended myself. I've never had a problem standing up for myself before."

"Yeah, remember how you handled the Sharmell situation." Last summer Sharmell's husband Booker T and Dave got in an infamous fight which resulted in Sharmell and Vanessa sharing some not so nice words and almost coming to blows themselves. "Why don't you just tell Dave how you are feeling, try to get him to understand how you are feeling? You never know, maybe he feels the same way."

"If he felt the same, he never would have given up his friendship for her. God, I can't stand her. She is an absolute waste for this company." Vanessa closed her eyes and tried to compose her emotions.

"Then do something about it." Vanessa glanced over at Trish and noticed she had a devious gleam in her eye.

"What's that look for, Stratus?"

"Well, you are an important part of the writing staff, even more so now that Steph is gone…"

"Yeah?"

"All I am saying is I don't think Shelly would mind getting her gothic hands on our pretty little backstage interviewer, do you?" Both women were quiet while they thought of the possibility. Suddenly Vanessa jumped up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to Shelly." Trish hurriedly got up as they went to look for ECW's resident vamp.

* * *

Dave sat in his locker room, preparing for his match later on that night. His mind was currently occupied thinking of how his life had changed so drastically. He barely spoke to half of his friends, due to there dislike for Rebecca and loyalty to Vanessa. Half the locker room had a bet going for when those two were finally going to get together but before anything could happen Rebecca walked in and the rest is history. Dave had to admit that having Rebecca around him relieved a lot of stress on him. She wasn't someone that he could envision spending the rest of his life with, but she was someone that kept his bed warm at night. It wasn't that Dave wasn't immensely attracted to Vanessa; it's just that after two years of friendship, he found himself doing the one thing he swore he would never do again after his last failed marriage- fall in love. Vanessa was the type of girl that any sane man could see himself settling down with and in Dave's mind, settling down meant the end.

"If I don't get no ass tonight motherfucker, I'm coming after you."

Dave looked up to see his long time friend, Randy Orton standing in front of him glaring.

"Look Orton, just because you can't get it up anymore, doesn't mean that it's my fault."

"Hardy har asshole. Whatever you did to upset Ness pissed off Trish and since I am your friend, Trish is now pissed at me. Girl power, my ass. So what did you do this time?"

"Nothing. I was having a moment with my girl and Nessa and Trish happened to be there. Words were exchanged and now here we are."

Randy scratched his chin, deep in thought. "From my understanding, your dick is now over riding your brain and causing you to lose you fucking mind."

"Wise words from the girlfriend?"

"Of course. Look, you know me and you don't do any of that mushy shit, so I'm just going to be real with you. You are one of the dumbest people I know."

"Are you asking for an ass whoopin, Orton?"

"Simmer down buddy and just hear me out. Vanessa is beautiful, smart, funny, cool and for some reason could actually tolerate your ape ass for more that a day. Everyone just can't figure out why you would not even make a single move on one of the sexiest girls we have ever seen to deal with….that other thing. Hell, if I wasn't with Trish, I would have been had my hands on that fine ass."

"Do you have a point?" Dave could feel the beginnings of a headache if Randy didn't hurry the hell up.

"My point is, you need to get your shit together, cause before you know it Ness is gonna find the man of her dreams and pop out two kids while you still trying to find someone to suck your old ass dick." With that, Randy got up and headed for the showers, leaving Dave to his thoughts.

* * *

Vanessa took her place in the gorilla position backstage. As a head writer, she has the task of standing there in case anyone forgets what they are supposed to do. She was finishing up her notes for the night when she felt a shadow over top of her. She smiled knowing that shadow all too well.

"Yes Mark?"

"I leave you alone for one second and you and Blondie start courting trouble."

"I beg to differ. Trish was courting trouble; I was merely observing her technique." Vanessa flashed Mark a mega-watt smile.

"Whatever, how you holdin up darling?"

"I would do a lot better if people would stop treating me like my husband just died in a car crash. Friendships end everyday. It's fucked up that this one ended the way it did; I mean we didn't even have a proper ending, but whatever. We were just the best of friends who told each other everything and I thought we would always have each other backs, obviously I was wrong. What's wrong with me, huh? I have parts of the female anatomy too, you know. Just because I can hang out at the bar with the guys does not mean that I pee standing up….."

Mark put his hands on Vanessa's shoulders. "Whoa there spitfire. Just take a deep breath. Now I don't know what exactly is going on; it sounds like one of your chick problems and that's not my expertise. I came over here to tell you that since we are in Texas, I am having a little get together tomorrow. Nothing special, just beer and food. I expect to see your tiny ass at my house bright and early. Judging by your little outburst, I think I need a bottle of Jack just for you."

"You know me; I never turn down a free drink." Mark kissed Vanessa on the temple.

"That's my girl." As he turned around and prepared to transform himself in full Undertaker mode, Vanessa finally noticed what Mark had been able to accomplish. He had taken her mind off of Dave, even if it was for only a minute or two.

"Hey Mark."

"Yeah?"

"You're good." Mark only smiled as the fog started to form and his music began to play.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you guys so much for the reviews. I'm glad that there are people who actually like my story. As always, I own nothing, but I do have some ideas about what I would do if I owned a certain 300lb animal. _

* * *

Vanessa swore the world was out to get her. All she wanted was a nice, peaceful sleep before she had to get up and face another day. Unfortunately, the incessant ringing of her cell phone was preventing her from doing so. As she pried her head from underneath the pillow, she glanced at the clock to realize that it was only quarter after seven. She vowed whoever was on the phone was getting their ass handed to them later. She opened up her cell phone and put it on speaker.

"Whoever the hell this is better be half dead in order to be calling me this early in the damn morning." Instead of the desired effect that whoever was on the other line would hang up and let her sleep; Vanessa heard a deep southern chuckle.

"Mark!!! You really are becoming a severe pain in my ass."

"Quit your bitchin and get over here. I need some help setting up."

Vanessa dug a little bit deeper in the mattress. "What setting up do you need to do? Beers go in cooler and food goes on the grill."

"Yeah that was before I had a wife and some kids. Now she wants to set up tables, chairs and some other shit."

"You know I love Sara, right? But I'm sleeping Mark and I have no intention…." Click. Vanessa looked down at the phone appalled. _I can't believe he just hung up on me. Oh well, back to sleep for me._

Just as Vanessa became relaxed again, the loud banging on her door bolted her straight up and out of bed. Her and her tangled sheets made her way to the door and opened it with force.

"Who the hell do you…." Vanessa lost track of her sentence as she became face to face with Dave. Well, it was more like face to chest but it was still enough to fully awake Vanessa. "What are you doing here?"

Dave walked past Vanessa and sat down on the bed. "Mark knew you would be hell to wake up so he suggested I make sure that you make to his house quickly."

"Well, that's not going to happen. I'll get there when I feel damn good and ready and right now I feel ready to crawl my ass back into bed and go back to dreamland where there are no people, only chocolate. Besides, if you think for one minute that I am getting in the car with you and your little…."

"Watch it, Vanessa."

"….girlfriend, then you, my dear, are sadly mistaking. I don't wanna bring down your image or anything." Vanessa moved to crawl back into bed when she suddenly felt a breeze on her backside. This was not going to be easy.

"David Michael Bautista, give me back my covers and get the hell out of my room."

"Vanessa Nicole Suarez, get the hell up and get dressed now."

"Why won't you leave me alone?"

"Cause what's the fun in that, Ness?" At the sound of the nickname that he used to frequently use on her, Vanessa grew angry.

"Don't call me that again. You lost the right to call when that when a piece of pussy became more important to you then our friendship. Do you have any idea how bad you hurt me? Do you? One minute everything's great and the next minute, you are gone. And I don't just mean gone from my life, I mean completely gone. You are nothing like the Dave Bautista I knew before. I'm tired of feeling like I did something wrong for you to just not want to be around me anymore, but I know that I didn't. I hope that she gives you the happiness that you looking for, Dave, I really do. But you can't just come in my room, sit on my bed and call me Ness. Not anymore. I'm getting up now and going to Mark's, but I will find my own way there. Thanks anyway. Now could you please leave?"

As Vanessa was struggling to blink back her tears, Dave struggled to find something to say. "Look…"

"Don't. Just please go." Dave nodded and headed for the door.

* * *

Vanessa adjusted her sunglasses as she walked in Mark's spacious house. After her confrontation with Dave, Vanessa decided to stop feeling bad for herself and start getting back in the swing of things. She made her way to the noise in the kitchen. Upon entering, she stopped and had to laugh in spite of herself.

"Might I ask what the hell is so funny?" Mark looked over at Nessa with confusion.

"Sorry but seeing a seven foot man with an apron and a chef's hat is just a tad bit comical." Vanessa had to bite the inside of her cheek to try to stop from laughing.

"Ha ha hell. Where's Dave?"

"Hopefully rotting in hell. Why did you think it would be a good idea to send him over to get me?"

Mark put down the fork he was using and peered over at Vanessa. "I know that you are mad that things aren't the way they used to be, but I was thinking that maybe if the two of you would just sit like the adults you claim to be, you might be able to work it out. It's better than you walk around being miserable because you have been in love with him forever and were too scared to tell him. Chicken shit."

"First of all, I am NOT in love with Dave. I just…." Vanessa quickly racked her brain to come up with an excuse, but realized that she didn't have one. Angry at Mark for knowing her so well, she quickly went into the fridge and grabbed a beer.

"A little early for you to be drinkin', isn't it?" Vanessa whipped around and smirked.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Aren't you the man that made millions off of drinking beer and raising hell?"

Steve Williams merely nodded as he came over the counter to hug Vanessa. Steve and Mark, both being native Texans, had an extremely close friendship over the years and just like Mark, Steve looked at Vanessa as a daughter. "So what's going on little one?"

"Same shit, different day. Hey Mark, where's Sara?"

"In the background." Vanessa hurried outside and saw Sara knee deep in beer. "What the hell are you doing?"

Sara looked up and gave Vanessa a hug. "Mark has bought every type of beer known to mankind. Now I am stuck with putting all this shit in coolers."

"Well have fun." Vanessa went to walk away but was tugged back by her ponytail.

"Don't think so missy. Grab a bag of ice and then you can tell me what exactly is going on with you and Tista."

* * *

A couple of hours later, the party was in full swing. Everyone you could think of was in attendance, even former WWE employees. Vanessa laid down on the nearest chair, ready to enjoy some sun and a cold drink. Trish and Lisa laid down on opposite ends of her.

"So Randy told me that whatever you said to Dave really upset him?"

"Fuck him. I am sick of worrying about how the fuck he feels when he doesn't offer me the same fucking courtesy."

"Chill girlie, just making a statement." Talking about Dave was the last thing that she wanted to do. She quickly got up and headed for the nearest cooler. As she bent over to pick up her beer, she heard a whistle behind her.

"Damn baby, where have you been all my life?"

Vanessa smiled. "You have got to be the biggest dork that I have ever met in my life Cena."

"Yeah but at least I'm sexy." Vanessa laughed at the WWE Champion. "Anyway, I heard what's been going on lately…."

"Don't John. I know everyone's worried about me but I'm fine and I probably would be doing a lot better if people would stop bringing up his name every five seconds."

"What I was going to say, before you rudely interrupted me was that I know that you need to get your mind off of things and if you ever need me, I'm here for you babe." John winked.

Vanessa stepped back and looked at John. She would be lying if she didn't say that John wasn't one of the most gorgeous men that she had ever laid eyes on. She had been so wrapped up in Dave that she never really looked at John as anything more than a friend. But now, with her fifth beer almost gone and his muscles glistening in the sunlight, Vanessa found herself extremely attracted to the man in front of her. She moved a little closer so that her breath was on his neck.

"How exactly are you going to be there for me, John?"

John had to take a deep breath in order to stop himself from ripping off her bathing suit right in front of everyone. "Any way that you need me to be."

Vanessa peeled her eyes away from John as she heard people exchanging hellos by the front door. It was none other than Dave and Rebecca. Vanessa realized there could be worse places to nurse her broken heart then in the arms of John Cena. She quickly kissed John on his cheek and gave him a playful smirk.

"I might just take you up on that offer, Cena."


	4. Chapter 4

_As always, only Vanessa belongs to me….._

* * *

After her little flirtation with John awhile back, Vanessa had to make sure to stay away from him. Even though her body was desperately aching for comfort, she was trying to make sure that even in her drunken state; she didn't do something that she would regret. She knew that if she and John were to ever get together, it would be nothing but trouble.

She made her way over to the table where Mark, Steve, Glenn, Ric and Rowdy were playing an interesting game of poker.

"WOOOOOOOOO….pay up, bitches, you all know I have alimony to pay."

At the opposite table, Chris Irvine was trying to convince Chris, Shawn, and Shane that he wasn't ready to come back to wrestling just yet.

Over by the pool, John, Randy, Adam, Jay, and Carlito were debating on who was better in Playboy, Torrie or Ashley.

Vanessa shook her head and made her way inside to use the bathroom. Before she could get there, she felt a tug on her arm. She turned around to face Trish and Lisa. Trish was the first to speak.

"Nessa, we didn't mean any harm earlier. We just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I know what you are going through and I just want to help as much as I can."

"Yeah, chica, just say the word and I will be glad to take Becky for a nice long walk. I'm sure Sara will tell me where Mark keeps his knife collection."

"Guys, I know that you are worried about me, and I'm sorry that I snapped out on you guys. I am just trying to move forward and it's already hard that I have to work with him everyday; I don't need the extra conversations about him. I just want this pain to go away. I honestly don't know what's worse, losing my friend, or being mad at myself for never telling him the truth."

"How about when we all get back to Florida we have a girl's night? Just the girls and some liquor and we can gossip the night away?"

"Li, that sounds like something I really need."

The girls hugged and Lisa and Trish headed back outside. Vanessa went into the kitchen to grab some chips before going back outside. She was so busy trying to absorb all the grease and salt that she could, she almost ran smack dab into Rebecca. Vanessa rolled her eyes and tried to walk past but Rebecca blocked her way.

"Look chick, I'm too drunk to even begin to deal with you ass, so I suggest you move out of my way."

"Aww, poor little Vanessa, you know longer have the shoulder of Dave to cry on. Do you know how pathetic you are? Dave and I just have a great time laughing at how you used to just follow him around like a little puppy?"

Vanessa felt her rage boiling over. "You know nothing about me and Dave."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I know this much, Dave and I are a couple now. That means that while you are dreaming of having hot sex with him, I am actually doing it. I am only going to tell you this once, stay away from him or you will regret it."

"What are you doing to do, Rebecca? Hit me with an implant? You don't have to worry about me and Dave; we no longer have anything to say to each other. But let me explain something to you, you are a phase. If you think for one second that Dave will ever love or respect you, you are sadly mistaken sweetheart. You are nothing more than a paid ring rat and once Dave is done, you will be back to suck the dicks of jobbers down in OVW." With that, Vanessa pushed passed Rebecca and went to the nearest cooler. As she let the smooth taste of Corona go down her throat, she saw John out the corner of her eye. She quickly went over to where he was with a couple other wrestlers. She tapped John on the shoulder.

"Yes, beautiful?"

"John, I'm tired and a little too drunk to make it back to the hotel, can you take me, please?"

John noticed the fire that was evident in Vanessa eyes and quickly said goodbye to everyone while taking her to his rental car. Once inside, Vanessa closed her eyes and let the air conditioner soothe her skin. For awhile, John thought she was sleep until she finally spoke up.

"John, how serious were you about being there for me?" John looked over at her and smiled.

"As serious as you want me to be, why?" Vanessa took a deep breath before she responded.

"Cause I want you to stay with me tonight."

* * *

_I know this chapter is a tad short, but I plan to make it up to everyone next chapter. Stay tuned…._


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks everyone for the reviews. I hope this chapter makes up for the short one before. I only own Vanessa. Warning: This chapter has some sexual content._

* * *

As they rode in the elevator in complete silence, Vanessa tried to rack her brain to come up with an explanation for her outburst in the car. Judging from John's lack of words, Vanessa feared that maybe she overstepped her bounds in their friendship. As she walked in the room with John quickly behind her heels, she turned on the air conditioner to try and cool down. She looked over at John who was sitting on the chair by the window. Vanessa made a decision that she was just going to through caution to the wind and see what happens.

"John, I'm just going to be completely honest with you right now. I don't really know what is going to happen today or tomorrow but I know that I'm physically attracted to you. So maybe there is no harm in two single people throwing caution to the wind, if only for a couple of hours. If I made you feel weird in any way, then I'm sorry." Vanessa closed her eyes and prepared for the rejection that she was sure that was coming her way. When she felt a hand on her waist, she slowly opened her eyes to be met with the crystal blue orbs of John.

Without saying a word, John ran his hand through her hair and gently kissed her. Vanessa moaned into his mouth, anxiously waiting for more. With their lips never parting, John started to undo the straps on her bathing suit letting the top fall to the floor. He grabbed her waist with one hand, while his other hand gently played with her nipple, taking Vanessa by surprise and causing her to gasp in his mouth. She quickly grabbed the bottom of his jersey and released her kiss long enough to pull the shirt off. She ran her nails over his bulging muscles and found herself wondering why she had never been in this predicament before. John had to have had the most amazing body she had ever touched. She pushed him onto the bed and quickly undid his jeans. When she finally got the boxers off, she had to stop to admire the size of his penis.

"Well, I now know why you are so cocky." John laughed but his laughter was quickly replaced with a moan of pleasure of Vanessa wrapped her full lips around him, taking in everything she could. John grabbed her hair and felt his eyes rolling in the back of his head. Vanessa alternated sucking, grabbing and licking while keeping her eyes on John to admire his beautiful facial features. As she felt him tighten in his mouth, she pulled back to show him that she wasn't done just yet. She stood by the foot of the bed and quickly discarded her clothes.

John stared in awe. She had the curviest body he had ever seen in his life and he couldn't wait to touch her. He moved to the edge of the bed and laid her down without ever breaking eye contact. Before she could even react, she felt two fingers quickly slide into her core, and she screamed out in pleasure. John continued to move in and out with his fingers enjoying the look of pleasure on Vanessa's face. Vanessa grabbed the top of the sheets, hoping that it would steady her breath and calm her down. But after going so long without having an actual man to give her pleasure, she quickly became impatient.

"John?" Vanessa breathlessly asked.

"Yeah, beautiful?"

"Fuck me NOW." John smirked and released his fingers and positioning himself directly over top of her. He leaned into her making both of them moan with passion. He steadied himself, not wanting to hurt her but Vanessa had other ideas. She wrapped her legs around his waist, while bringing him deeper inside her. They rode together with perfect rhythm. Vanessa felt the beginnings of an orgasm and urged John to go harder and faster. Vanessa arched her back and screamed John's name while John moaned and they both came in pure satisfaction.

After catching their breathes, John looked down at Vanessa. He was amazed at the beauty that he saw underneath him. He moved for fear that he was hurting you and he laid next to her while she wrapped her legs around his waist. Both were quiet as they tried to make sense of what just happened. In the darkness, John strained to hear Vanessa.

"Thank you." Vanessa quickly fell off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Vanessa woke with a serious headache. The pain in her lower abdomen reminded her that what occurred early was not a dream. However when she reached over, she was met with nothing. She surveyed the room in hopes of seeing John, but to her dismay, he was nowhere to be found.

She removed the sheets and stood up searching for some clue that John was even there last night but she found nothing. Just as she was being to give up hope, she heard a click at her hotel room door. John walked through and almost dropped his bag at the sight of Vanessa standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but flesh.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"I thought you had left without saying anything."

"No, you were sleep, so I decided to grab some breakfast."

Vanessa sighed in relief. She was hoping that maybe she didn't turn him off after last night. The both sat on the bed into silence while enjoying their breakfast sandwiches. After eating Vanessa decided to have the conversation that she had been dreading all morning.

"So….."

John looked at the confused expression on Vanessa's face. He eagerly anticipated what she was going to say.

"Do you think maybe you would like to join me in the shower?" Vanessa bit her lip and waited for John's response. He smirked and quickly grabbed her and put Vanessa over his shoulder.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask."

* * *

After taking their hot shower, Vanessa glanced at her cell phone and noticed that she missed twelve calls. Just as she was going to see who it was, the sound of Usher's "Lovers and Friends" blared through the room. Furrowing her brow, Vanessa answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"I'm right outside your room. Answer the door, we need to talk."


	6. Chapter 6

_I just have to take a quick moment to thank __nefertina-shanf__xXx Miss Pedigree xXx__Lil'MissCena__ and socalledsara. The four of you have been very instrumental in helping me continue this story. Thanks you guys for the reviews and support._

* * *

"Why are you outside my door? I thought we said everything that we both needed to say yesterday."

Dave sighed. He knew this was not going to be easy. He had almost forgotten how stubborn Vanessa could be.

"No, you had the chance to say everything you wanted to. I didn't get to say anything."

"Your silence said enough. I have no intentions on opening the door."

"Can't you stop being so hard headed for once in your damn life?"

"Now you are insulting me? Sorry, me opening the door is not a possibility right now." Vanessa racked her brain to try to think of reasons to stall. If she opened that door, and Dave saw John, she wasn't quite sure what would take place. Vanessa just wanted to make sure that she didn't allow that to happen. Sighing loudly, she finally came up with a solution.

"How about we meet for lunch tomorrow after we fly back home? That way, it's in a public place, you can say what you have to say, and we can be done with it."

"Fine. I'll be at you place around three tomorrow." Click. Vanessa was growing increasingly impatient with people hanging up without saying goodbye. She moved towards her suitcase to grab her jeans when she heard John speak from behind her.

"Nessa, what exactly are we doing?"

Vanessa looked at John with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong, last night was great. I think that you are an amazing girl but I haven't been living under a rock for the past two years either. You have to blind, deaf and dumb not to see that your feelings for Dave were more than just friendship. I just need you to be honest with me. Am I just a temporary solution so that you can get over Dave? Because if I am, that's fine. I would just like to know exactly where I stand."

Vanessa stared with her mouth agape. This was the first time she had ever seen John like this. Normally he was the goofy, slightly immature one that was good for a few laughs. She had never seen this side of him and she would be lying if she said that it didn't tug at her heart strings a little bit.

"Honestly, John, I don't know. Last night was great and it reminded me on how much I miss having someone next to me at night. I'm not really sure what's going on or where things are going to go. I do know that I have a lot of fun with you and I think that you are a great guy. I can't promise you a relationship, but maybe we can just see where things go."

John gently kissed Vanessa's lips. "Well, that's better than nothing. Now let's get going before we miss our flight."

* * *

Nothing is more hectic than seventy five wrestlers trying to get on the same plane headed for Tampa. At times it can be absolute chaos. It was times like this that Vanessa was thankful she was just a writer and not a superstar. Judging by the hung over looks of her friends signing autographs, they probably wished they were her right now.

Vanessa boarded the plane and pulled out her IPOD. But before she could enough get comfortable, she was stuck in a gossip sandwich.

"So….Cena took you home, huh?"

"Stratus, shouldn't you be sitting in the back making out with your boyfriend like two horny teenagers?"

"He's hung over and green; it's really not that sexy." Trish pulled her blonde hair back in a ponytail. "Don't try to change the subject missy. Lisa, Stephanie, and I would like to know what exactly transpired in hotel room 405 last night."

Vanessa looked over at Lisa who had that evil gleam in her eye. _I see now that this is going to be a long flight._

"Wait a minute. Why would Stephanie want to know? How does Stephanie know?"

Lisa took this time to finally speak up. "Well, we called her. When we hadn't heard from you, we called her."

"Cut the bullshit. Randy said he called John about four times last night and John never picked up his phone. This was after a certain drunken woman asked John for a lift back to the hotel. Now are you going to tell us or are we going to have to nag it out of you?"

"Hanging out with Orton is really bringing out the child in you. I will be more than happy to tell you once we get off the plane and we are not surrounded by coworkers."

"So something did happen!!!"

"I didn't say that Li; I just said we will talk about it later." Vanessa turned her IPOD and grabbed her notepad. Somehow she thought she might be able to come up with some really good storylines about now.

* * *

"Alright Cena, what gives?"

John looked over at the slightly tired eyes of one of his best friends, Randy Orton. The two of them, along with Dave, had garnered quite the reputation over the years with their womanizing ways. That was before Trish walked into Randy's life. Randy realized that he had everything he needed within her. Plus, she threatened bodily harm if he even thought about fucking around on her.

"What's up?"

"Did you and Nessa fuck last night or what?"

"You are so discreet; did anyone tell you that, Orton? She was drunk, I took her back to the hotel, and I stayed with her to make sure she was alright."

"Well aren't you just the prince in hip hop amour? How noble of you."\

"Bite me, asshole."

Randy chuckled as he tried to adjust her large frame in the tiny seat. "No thanks buddy. I'm not gonna get on you shit. If you want me to know, you will tell me. But I will say this. Nessa has always and will always want Dave. Dave, who by the way, is one of our best friends. The last thing I want or need is for all of us to start growing apart over a piece of pussy…"

"Orton, watch it."

"Just hear me out. I love Ness, I really do. You would have to be crazy to not want to be with her. But on the flip side, we are all at a really great place in our lives and none of us need the bullshit. So all I am saying is be careful. Can I ask you a question?"

John squeezed his eyes shut as he braced himself for the question that Randy was going to ask. "What, Orton?"

"Can you accept the fact that no matter how hard you try, you will always be Vanessa's second choice?"


	7. Chapter 7

_As always, I own nothing but Vanessa. I wasn't going to do two chapter back to back like this. However, I was sitting at work and the words for this chapter just kept nagging at me. So I hope you all enjoy._

* * *

She felt the need to bang her head up against the wall. True to their word, as soon as they could, Lisa, Trish and Stephanie were plopped down on the couch in Vanessa's condo. The three of them stared at her with wide eyes and disbelief as she retold the recent events that had occurred in her life. She finished and waited for a response. 

"Well, I'm nice and sticky now. Thanks, Ness."

Vanessa stared at Steph with a look of disgust. "Thanks for the visual, Steph. I always needed that in my life."

"All bullshitting aside, what are you going to do?" Trish asked as she took a swig of her beer. Lisa was on the opposite end of the couch wondering the same thing.

"I'm not going to do anything. Dave and I are not together. I am free to do whatever I want, whenever I want. I do need anyone's permission either. I left my daddy back in Pennsylvania."

"Look all I know is, you need to be careful. You are talking about sleeping with one friend while wanting another. Don't get me wrong, I am all for you getting yours, but Randy says they take that "bros before hoes" saying very seriously and I just don't want you to be another causality."

Lisa nodded in agreement. "I remember when I was dating Jay. He said that he, Chris and Adam took that to heart on all levels."

"You guys, it was just one night. I don't even know what's going to happen next. I just know that it happened, I can't change it and I don't know if I even want to. John's single, Dave's not. John has shown interest in me, Dave hasn't. John seems to be winning the race."

Lisa frowned. "John's a great guy and he has a lot of good things going for him. But the fact is, no matter how good John looks on paper; you can't control your heart. Not to put John down, but are you going to ever be ok with the fact that he's not Dave?"

The girls sat in silence giving some thought to what Lisa had just said.

Stephanie let the icy mojito slide down her throat before she spoke. "Enough with the sad shit; we will deal with that as the days go by. Let's get to the more important stuff."

Trish shook her head. "What could be more important than Vanessa being way in over her head?"

"How big of a package Cena is carrying around."

Lisa inched a little close to Vanessa. "Steph has a point. Do tell."

The four girls laughed and talked the rest of the night. Even in all her fun, Vanessa couldn't help but take what the girls said to heart. To make matters worse, she was stuck going to lunch tomorrow with the same man that seemed to have complete control over her life.

* * *

Vanessa woke up at ten the next morning. She did her normal routine of exercising and eating breakfast before heading to the shower. As she let the water soothe her body, she thought about what she was going to wear to this lunch. In a way, she felt like she was obligated to show Dave what he missed out on. She wanted to make sure that he knew that she was a sensual woman and that he was the world's biggest fucking idiot for not looking at her in a way other than friendship. 

She stood in front of her closet for what seemed like hours before finally deciding on a red halter top, which showed off her golden tan and a pair of her favorite jeans that hugged all of her curves. She ended the outfit with a pair of red sandals, and matching bag. She blew out her hair and curled the ends giving her plenty of bounce. Even Vanessa had to admit that she was definitely having a good day.

She looked over at the clock by her bed and noticed that she only had about fifteen minutes or so before Dave came over. She picked up the phone and dialed out.

"Home of the miserable and crippled. How can I help you?"

"Paul?"

"Nessa?"

"Yeah. I guess you are still not any happier, huh?"

"You try be stuck at home for four months with nothing to do but watch TV and rehab. By the way, I am really starting to question the sanity of our country. If I have to watch one more whore go on the Maury to test the tenth man that she claims is her "baby daddy", I might just gauge my eyeballs out. And people have the nerve to say wrestling is a bad influence."

Vanessa had tears in her eyes from laughing so much. "At least you have Aurora to keep you company." Vanessa could practically feel Paul's face light up at the sound of his daughter.

"She certainly is gorgeous, just like her old man."

"Nice to see that you are still modest as ever."

"I try. Now what's going on, cause I know you didn't call to just shoot the shit with an old cripple man, did ya?"

"Actually, I called to talk to Steph, but you know it's always a treat when I get to talk to my second favorite DX member ever."

"You know Ness; it's not very nice to kick me when I'm down."

"But it's so much fun that way."

"Anyway, you just missed Steph. She went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication and buy some things for the house. I have to admit; I am very shocked to see how domesticated my billion dollar princess has become."

After talking some more, Vanessa promised that she would be over to visit shortly and they both hung up. Just as she was about to check her makeup, she heard someone turn the lock at her front door. Dave walked in and offered a small smile.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking you to lunch. Did you forget already?"

"No. Why do you still have my key?"

"Because you never took it back."

Vanessa paused as she realized he was right. "Well, I need it back. I can't have you barging in whenever you feel like it."

"That was never a problem before."

Vanessa looked at Dave with big eyes. "You were never a problem before. Funny how things change. Can we go eat now? I have work to do."

Dave realized that Vanessa was not going to make things easy. She had built up her walls, she was ready for battle and her target of choice was none other than Dave himself.

"Sure thing, Nes…I mean, Vanessa."

The little slip up didn't go unnoticed by Vanessa. She turned around to see Dave starting down at her with the same smirk that always brings her to her knees. She fought to control her emotions and she smirked back.

_It's on now, motherfucker._


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey guys. Sorry for not updating sooner, but I had the chance to go to Smackdown last night. I had a lot of fun and it definitely served as some inspiration to write some more. _

* * *

The ride in the car was quiet except for the sounds of the radio. Vanessa was trying to keep her emotions in check while Dave was trying to figure out what he was going to say. They pulled up to a seafood restaurant on the bay. Dave took Vanessa here because he knew how much she loved eating by the water. They sat down outside on the deck and ordered their drinks. The water was the only thing that could be heard. Vanessa grew tired of the quietness and spoke up.

"It was your idea to talk and yet you have said nothing since we got in the car. For all this, I could have stayed home."

Dave stared at Vanessa with intense eyes. How did everything between them end so quickly? She was one of the few people in his life that he trusted with everything. Now, in the blink of an eye, he seemed to have lost her. He couldn't understand how being in a relationship was cause for the two of them to no longer be friends.

"Can you stop staring at me and say what you have to say?" Vanessa felt small under the stare of Dave and it was sending chills down her spine. She vowed to herself that she was not going down this road again. She was not going to fall for his sweet words, not this time. She knew that she couldn't be his friend; not with all the feelings that she had inside. She learned that it was a lot easier to hold her emotions in when he didn't have a girlfriend. But now with Rebecca in the picture, it was becoming more difficult to keep her feelings at bay.

"You look good." Vanessa rolled her eyes. _What kind of mind games are you trying to play? _"You are getting a little skinny though."

"Well, when your best friend leaves you for a piece of pussy, you tend to throw yourself into your job and mindless things like eating just don't become that important anymore." Vanessa paused long enough to order her food. Once the waiter left, she continued her rant.

"I wish I could say that you looked good too, but it seems as though your nose is a little wide open. Courtesy of Becky?"

"I never knew you to be the jealous type."

"I never knew you to be the asshole type. Guess we were both wrong, and just for the record, I am NOT jealous."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Dave, I'm not one of your children, so please don't treat me like one."

"Then stop acting like one. What's your problem? I understand that we haven't been able to spend as much time together as we used to. Believe it or not, I miss it just as much as you do. But being that you are my best friend, you are supposed to be there for me. I understand that you don't like Rebecca but you didn't even give her a chance. She's really not that bad."

"Newsflash, I'm not the only friend that you have seemed to forget about since the appearance of your little girlfriend. When's the last time you visited Paul? How about Aurora? We are her godparents, you know. It would be nice if you actually got to know the child. When's the last time you have been out with the guys?" Dave remained quiet. "Exactly my point. You have seemed to forget about everyone, not just me. Dave, you will never understand how bad you hurt me. You belittled our friendship by being able to toss it aside so easily."

"What I can't understand is why things have to be so nasty between us? There is something that you are not telling me and I wanna know why. We used to tell each other everything, and now you just want to be rude. I don't get it."

"Maybe our friendship is just not as strong as we thought it was." Vanessa played with her food, suddenly losing her appetite.

"Bullshit." Vanessa glared at Dave.

"Excuse me?"

"I said bullshit. There is more going on with you than just being mad that we not spending every waking moment together and I want to know what it is." Just as Vanessa was going to respond, Dave's cell phone went off. He glanced down at it and groaned. _Perfect timing._

"You better answer it. Don't want your little girlfriend getting upset."

Dave quickly opened up his phone while keeping his eyes on Vanessa. "Hello"

"Baby? Where are you?" Vanessa cringed at the sound of Rebecca's loud, high-pitched voice. She stared out the ocean while Dave continued his conversation.

"I'm eating right now. Can I call you back?"

"Eating with whom?" Dave paused before answering the question. He knew that if he told Rebecca the truth, she would be furious. On the other hand, he knew that Vanessa could hear him and the last thing he wanted to do was make her anymore angry.

"Um…I'm actually out with Vanessa. We are catching up." Vanessa heard what Dave said but kept her gaze steadily on the water. She tried not to dance around that he actually acknowledged her because she knew he only did it to please her.

"Why the hell are you out with her? Why didn't you tell me before that you were going out to eat with that…."

"Rebecca, we will talk about it later. I've got to go." With that Dave hung up the phone and focused his attention back on Vanessa. He couldn't read her eyes, due to the large glasses surrounding her face. However, he had known Vanessa long enough to know that she was having some sort of battle within herself. Just as he was getting ready to continue their conversation, Vanessa caught him off guard. Without ever taking her eyes off the water, she asked the one question that had been on her mind for the past six months.

"What's wrong with me?" Dave looked at her with confusion laced on his face.

"What do you mean?" Vanessa turned her attention to Dave. She grew tired of the back and forth ranting and now she just wanted an answer. She was getting ready to put it all on the table and hope for the best.

"I mean, what is wrong with me? We spent almost everyday together, I know everything about you. I love your girls and they love me. We share the same friends, the same interest, everything. I guess I just don't understand why you overlooked me when you decide to get back in the dating pool. So help me understand, what was so wrong with me that you never even gave me a second glance?"

It had only taken her a few sentences to sum up all of the pain she felt over the last couple of months and it left Dave in a state of shock. Never once did he think that Vanessa had any interest in him other than platonic. Had he know all of this earlier, everything would be a lot different. Before he could even respond, Vanessa held up her hand.

"You know what? Don't even answer that. I don't know if I can handle what you might say. I'm going to just take a cab home."

With that Vanessa got up and left, leaving Dave wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

_A/N: I realize things have been really heavy so far. The next chapter is going to be a little fun..._


	9. Chapter 9

_Other than the one flame, I'm glad others like my story. Please continue to read and if you don't like it, don't read it. My other fic Trying to Find Home is not receiving that much attention and I am thinking about pulling the plug. However, I'm working on another fic that's an OrtonOC fic; so look for that coming up. This chapter has some sexual content._

* * *

It had been a week since Vanessa left Dave speechless at the restaurant. Since then, she had made it her life's mission to avoid him at all cost. Considering that they worked together, she had to admit, she was doing a damn good job. Another Smackdown was over and she was looking forward for three days of relaxation. Trish, Stephanie and Lisa were all going to lay around on Thursday. The girls made it a point to get together at least once a week and they usually picked Thursday's to have their little pow wow. Vanessa said good night to Vince and headed towards her rental car. The closer she got, she noticed someone leaning on the hood.

"Need a ride?"

John Cena looked down and smiled. She was one of the few women who could pull off jeans and a ponytail and still bring tightness to his pants.

"Depends. What kind of ride are you offering?" John wiggled his eyebrows causing Vanessa to laugh out loud.

"You are a trip, Cena. Come on, get in." John got in the passenger side and cracked up the radio. Vanessa drove the whole way to the hotel laughing at John's inability to sing. While he was trying to belt out Robin Thicke's "Lost Without You", she was trying to concentrate on driving with tears in her eyes.

They went up to the room and John quickly hopped on the bed and patted the spot next to him.

"What are you doing?"

"I was hoping you would want to watch a movie with the world's sexiest champion."

"Really, is Orton coming over?" Vanessa laughed as John put on his best hurt face.

"Very funny, little one. My feelings are not hurt." Vanessa leaned over the bed and planted a kiss on John.

"Aww, poor baby. Let me take a shower and I'll be all ready for a movie." Vanessa went into the bathroom and shut the door.

The idea of Vanessa and hot water was very appealing to John. But before he could make any sudden moves, his phone rang.

"This better be good Orton."

"Hello to you too, Sunshine. What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to lay it down, why?"

"The guys are all meeting up at the bar on Thursday and I just wanted to see if you were down." John thought about it. Normally he would have no problem going, but he was hoping to spend some more time with Vanessa while they had off.

"Oh and in case you are wondering, the girl's are doing their normal chick shit that day, so you won't be able to see Ness." Orton replied, as if he was reading John's mind.

"Whatever, asshole. I'll be there." John quickly hung up as Vanessa stepped out of the shower. She was clad in a pair of boxer shorts and a thin, almost sheer tank top.

"So what movie are we watching?" John was still in shock at the sight of breasts hugging through the tank top that he almost lost his ability to speak.

"Movie?"

"Yes, the movie. Which one do you want to watch?" Vanessa asked while bending over to get her brush out of her bag. John couldn't take it anymore and quickly flipped her over, causing a squeal to come out of her mouth.

"I got a better idea." John replied before quickly capturing her lips with his own.

* * *

After their marathon session, Vanessa was sure she was not going to be able to walk for the next couple of days. _Well, at least it was worth it. They are definitely worse ways I could have lost my ability to walk._

Vanessa looked down at the sleeping form next to her. Hanging out with John proved to be the therapy that she needed. He was always finding ways to make her laugh and laughter was something she desperately needed right now. She quietly got up and limped outside to the balcony for some fresh air. She sat down and took a minute to enjoy the nice weather outside Phoenix. She remembered when she was a kid, one of her favorite things to do was sit on the rooftop and stare at the stars. It always calmed her in a way that she could never quite put into words. She felt arms wrap around her, taking her out of memory. She leaned back and closed her eyes at the touch of John's lips to her shoulder.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Reminiscing. I thought you were sleep."

"I rolled over to grab on to that ass, and it was gone. I find it hard to sleep without my favorite body pillow." Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"Wow, I feel so special."

"You should." Vanessa chuckled and closed her eyes. It was times like these that made her wonder why she and John didn't get together sooner. Although she still wasn't quite sure the two of them had a definition yet. John and her never talked about and Vanessa thought it was a lot easier that way.

Vanessa wasn't quite sure if it was the calm breeze in the air or the feeling of John's arms wrapped around her waist, but she suddenly found herself needing John right then and there.

She moved around so that was straddling his lap and she gently bit his earlobe, causing the man to moan deeply. He tried to get up so that they could continue this in the bedroom but Vanessa stopped him.

"No, let's stay out here." John took one look at the desire in her eyes and kissed her with passion. Vanessa gripped on to the back of his neck trying to devour every taste she could. Her hands made its way down to the bulge in his boxers. She played with his shaft and he grabbed her underwear, pulling them down.

The entry was so intense that Vanessa had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming out. She rode him at feverish pace, while John held a firm grip on her hips. As they both climaxed, Vanessa fell forward, placing her head in the crook of his neck.

With one hand, John stood up and carried Vanessa to the bed. He looked down at her and felt his breath catching in his throat. Normally, John wasn't much of a mushy guy. However, that seemed to change when he looked at her. Vanessa laid down staring at John with wide eyes and wild hair.

As he laid down and wrapped his arms around her, the question Randy asked a couple of days ago came back to haunt him.

_Am I OK with being her second choice?_


	10. Chapter 10

_When I first started this story, I was sure of the direction I was going in. However, I found myself really liking the pairing of John and Vanessa, so now I'm torn. Guess we'll just have to see what happens_

* * *

Vanessa stood in the kitchen cutting up cheese before the girls arrived. They decided instead of going out; they were all just going to lounge around and gossip. Vanessa's phone rang just as she put the plate in the refrigerator.

"Hello."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not a good idea to answer the phone with your mouth full?" Vanessa rolled her eyes as she swallowed her food.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you are a grade A ass?"

"Sara tells me that every morning, darling'. What are you doing?" Vanessa moved in the living room and started folding up her blanket.

"Not much, deadman. Just waiting for the girls to get here. What's up with you?"

"Getting ready to take to girl's to gymnastics."

"The parents must love it when you roll up with the girls. That's got to be a sight to see."

Mark and Vanessa talked a little while longer and made plans to go out to dinner once they got back on the road. Just as she was hanging up, there was a knock on the door.

"Damn, Steph, how much do you plan on drinking?" She opened the door a little wider as Stephanie struggled to get in while holding a box full of liquor and her massive handbag.

"It's rare for me to have one day sans hubby and child, so I plan on enjoying myself." Vanessa went to close the door, but was stopped by the appearance of Trish and Lisa.

The girls all went in the kitchen to make their drinks and grab some food. Once everything was set up, the girl's sat around the counter and started talking.

"I heard that Barbie got caught fooling around with Kevin the other night."

"Oh, I'm sure Andrew is going to love that one."

"What did you expect from a naïve twenty year old? Why did you dad hire her in the first place?"

"Cause she is a naïve twenty year old."

Lisa reached over to grab a piece of celery. "Dawn called me the other day."

Dawn Marie was a diva before she decided that she wanted to be a mother. Stephanie still held some resentment towards her father for the way he let her go. Vanessa never got the chance to know Dawn, but from the stories she heard; she knew that they would have been fast friends.

"How's she doing?"

"She's good. The baby's good. She actually called because she got a babysitter and she was going to stop by when we go to Jersey next week. But she wasn't sure if it was going to be a problem cause of the lawsuit and everything."

Stephanie waved her hand. "Don't worry about Dad; I'll take care of him. Just tell her that we can't wait to see her. Nessa, you'll love her; she is a lot like you."

"Can't wait to meet her."

Stephanie looked up and offered Vanessa a smile. "Guess what I heard?"

"What?"

"I heard after that little lunch between you and Dave, him and Rebecca had a massive fight."

"How do you know that?"

"Cause Dave came over that night and stayed. I overheard Dave and Paul talking about it. He said that he had too much shit on his mind to even think about dealing with her. So what exactly happened at the lunch that had him completely confused?"

Vanessa loved her girls, she really did. She just didn't think that she was ready to tell them how she threw her heart at Dave that day.

"Nothing much. Just got some things off my chest."

Trish was quiet as everyone around her talked. She had to tell Ness something but she wasn't really sure how to approach the topic.

"Hey Ness."

"Yeah?"

"Just a quick question. How serious are things becoming between you and John?"

Vanessa thought for a minute before answering. "I'm not really sure if it is all that serious. I mean, we are having a lot of fun together but we don't have labels or anything."

"So if there was to be someone else that liked him, it wouldn't bother you?"

"What are you saying, Stratus? Are you trying to leave Randy for John or something? Vanessa laughed.

"Of course not. Yesterday, I had a photo shoot and Maria happened to be there. She let it slip that she had a slight crush on John and that she was going to ask him out. That's why I was wondering."

Vanessa sat down her drink and thought for a moment. She and John didn't have a specific definition for what they were doing. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be in a relationship. She also wasn't sure if she wanted John to be in one with someone who wasn't her. She knew things were just too good to be true. She really couldn't blame Maria. Other than the people in the room and Randy; no one else knew about her and John's arrangement. She looked over to the three sets of eyes staring at her and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess if that's what John wants, then I would just have to deal with it." The girls looked back and forth between one another. They weren't really sure if they believed Vanessa or not. However, past experience told them that they probably wouldn't get more out of her anytime soon.

"So, anyone watch American Idol last night?" Vanessa quickly asked, hoping to change the subject. The girls continued on with their conversation and left the subject of John and Maria alone.

* * *

Dave sat in his living room while the radio played in the background. Truth be told, he had been mentally fucked up since having lunch with Vanessa. He couldn't believe that she just walked away like that. It also didn't go unnoticed by Dave that she had been doing everything in her power to avoid running in to him. He thought about going to the house to see her, but he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say. Why couldn't she have said something earlier? This would have made things so much easier.

He looked up to see Rebecca with her hands on her hips.

"Yes?"

"What the hell's your problem? You have been walking around in a funk for a week now and I am starting to get sick of it."

Dave pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't realize until now exactly how annoying the young woman was. "Rebecca, if you don't like my attitude, you have a home. A nice one, at that. You always have the option of going there."

Rebecca felt offended. "Are you telling me that you don't want me here?"

"I'm telling you to do whatever it takes to make you happy. If you are not happy around me and my attitude, you are more than welcome to leave."

Rebecca stared at Dave for a couple of minutes before tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Fine, I'm leaving and I'm not coming back until I get the apology I deserve."

Dave heard her grab her keys and storm out the door. He got up to pour himself a drink.

"Don't hold your breath for that apology sweetheart." Dave said to himself as he sat back down.


	11. Chapter 11

_Vanessa is mine…._

* * *

The latest Jay-Z album blared through John's IPOD as he lifted weights at the gym. The gym had become John's therapy over the years. Anytime he was stressed out, he hit the weight room to let out some of his frustration. Lately, he had been more frustrated than he cared to admit. The situation with Vanessa was growing more complicated than he had imagined. He knew, deep down, that her heart wanted Dave and he was ok with that. But what started out as a sexual arrangement had blossomed into something much more complicated. They spent their nights talking for hours on end about everything from work to future dreams. The line between sex and relationship was becoming very thin and John couldn't distinguish what side they were on.

At a house show two days ago, John was stopped by former Diva Search contestant Maria and was asked if he wanted to go out on a date. He was unsure for two reasons. First being that Maria was not exactly his type and second, he didn't know where he stood with Vanessa. He hated to admit it but he found his feelings growing fast and hard for the young writer. He didn't want to tell her for fear that his feelings would not be reciprocated. Plus John didn't want to pressure Vanessa into anything.

John opened his eyes to find blue eyes staring down at him. He placed the bar back on its holder and took the earphones out.

"I know I'm sexy Orton, but you don't have to stare."

"Ha ha motherfucker. Trust me when I say, I don't want you."

John took a drink from his bottle as he and Randy sat down on the bench nearby.

"What are you doing here besides working my damn nerves?"

"Doing some workouts for my shoulder."

"How's it been holding up?"

Randy shrugged. He didn't like to talk about his weaknesses and the injury that still plagued him to this day was definitely a sore subject.

"Some days are better than others. It's been acting up lately and I need to heal it up before Mania. Enough about me, I came over here to ask you what the hell is going on in that head of yours?"

John sighed. Randy was never the type to beat around the bush. "What are you talking about Orton?"

"I'm talking about Maria asking you out and you telling her that you have to get back to her. John, she's exactly what you need right now. She's young, dumb and full of cum. What more can you ask for?"

John looked at Randy. Didn't Randy get that he wanted more than just some fuck?

"Dude, let me ask you a question."

"Shoot." Randy leaned back to stretch out his legs.

"You know how we used to roll, right? Different chicks every night, not caring to know their names? When did that change for you? How did Trish become the one to make you settle down and not want to be out in the street doing that shit anymore?"

Randy sat back and thought for awhile. He never really put much thought into him and Trish. The two of them just clicked.

"She was everything I had in the streets but more. She can be one of the guys and she's sweet and all that good shit. But most importantly, she's a good fuck and she knows it. I spent all my life looking for that sexual partner that can match me all the way and I found it in her. Hey, it might not be the most romantic thing, but it's the truth. Don't tell me that you are starting to fall for Ness?"

The guilty look on John's face said it all. "Fuck, dude, why? I mean, don't get me wrong, Ness is great, but this spells trouble. I told you to be careful and now look at you."

John rolled his eyes. "Don't you think your overreacting just a tad bit?"

"Fuck no. If you and Ness start dating after what Ness told Dave last week, it is going to cause shit, start a rift and…"

"Whoa, back up. What did Ness tell Dave last week?"

Randy paused and looked at John. The look on his face showed that John had no idea what happened. Truth be told, the only reason why Randy knew was because he and Paul were talking about it. Randy should have known better than to open his mouth, but it was a little late for that now.

"You know what, it doesn't even matter."

"The fuck it doesn't. Orton, what happened?" The fire in John's eyes told Randy that he better start talking and fast.

"Dave wanted to talk to Ness about what was going on with them and Ness ended up telling Dave how she felt about him in so many words. According to Paul, she left him sitting at the table before he could even say anything."

John leaned back and closed his eyes. He knew he wouldn't be able to compete with Dave. Whether or not they were ever together was no longer point. John wasn't sure if Vanessa ever wanted to let go of that dream. He finally opened his eyes and looked over at Randy.

"I care about her. I don't want to but I do."

"But…"

"Dave's one of my closet friends and if there is one part of him that wants Vanessa, then I'm going to lose because that's where she wants to be. Do you know how fucking horrible it will be to watch one of my best friends kissing the same girl that used to be in my bed?"

Randy and John sat in silence, neither sure exactly what to say. All of a sudden an idea popped into Randy's mind.

"I have a plan."

John was scared to ask. "What?"

"Go back to Ness's hotel room and tell her about Maria. Ask her what she thinks."

"How is this going to help shit?"

"Because if she gets mad or jealous about you going out with her, then you know that her feelings for you are more than just sex. But if she says go ahead and you see that it doesn't bother her at all, then…"

"Then I will know where I stand and I'm gonna have to learn to let her go." John stood up and headed towards the door; expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

* * *

Vanessa walked off the elevator and headed toward her room. She saw John leaning against the door frame, deep in thought. She walked up to him and gently nudged him.

"It's not a good idea for you to be hanging outside my door. People might get suspicious." Vanessa was just joking around, but the look on John's face was anything but a joke.

"Sorry, I left the key at the gym."

"It's ok. You feeling alright?"

"Actually I was wondering if maybe we could talk about something." Vanessa knew by the look in his eyes that this was going to be a serious talk. Without saying anything, she quickly nodded and opened the door, leading them both inside.

Neither one of them saw Dave standing at the end of the hallway.


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I had an insane weekend and I'm just now becoming normal again. As always, only Vanessa is mine._

* * *

The room felt like it was caving in around her. Vanessa couldn't explain it, but for some reason ever since she walked in the hotel room; she fought to breathe. It might have had something to do with the feeling she got while being under John's blue-eyed stare. She knew this was going to be a serious conversation, but she couldn't figure out exactly what was going on. Vanessa sat down on the bed while John sat by the window. She fiddled with her thumbs as she waited for John to speak.

"I know that I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I have a question. Where do we stand?"

Vanessa looked at John with a frown on her face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what exactly is going on here? I know we said that we were just going to take it one day at a time and all that bullshit. But, what I really want to know is how do you feel about me?"

Vanessa furrowed her brows. "How do I feel?"

John sighed. "Can you please answer me instead of repeating everything I am saying?" John rested his head on the back of the train.

"Well, I'm sorry John, but I just don't know where all of this is coming from. We were fine this morning and now you are asking me all these questions. All of this is just catching me a little off guard."

"Fine, let's try this again. Do you see us as anything more that just a good fuck behind closed doors? Do you see us in a relationship or do you see us….I don't know. Why didn't you tell me about the lunch that you and Dave had?"

Vanessa's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know about that?"

"It doesn't matter how I know, I just do. So why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't a big deal and being that me and you are not in a relationship, I didn't think it was something that needed to be discussed."

"Right…we're not in a "relationship". We are just having fun until you figure out what the fuck you wanna do!!"

John's tone of voice startled Vanessa, causing her to jump. "What do you want me to say, John?"

"I just want to know where I stand. Don' feed me any bullshit or tell me what you think I want to hear. Just please be honest with me and tell me what's in your heart?"

Vanessa felt tears form in her eyes as she listened to the sincerity laced in John's voice. She didn't know what to say and she was scared she would hurt his feelings. However, one look in his eyes told Vanessa that she needed to start being honest with John and herself.

"I care about you. You are a great guy, John. You are fine, smart, funny, caring, and considerate. You have been my life support for awhile now and I honestly don't know how I would have got through the last couple of weeks without you. There are some days that I wish to God you would have came into my life sooner." She quickly tried to erase the tears preparing to appear on her cheeks.

One thing that bothered John more than anything else in the world was seeing a woman cry. He knew that he was coming off as an asshole, but he couldn't help it. His emotions seem to run haywire whenever Vanessa was around. He quickly moved out the chair and embraced her in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, John. I don't know what you want me to say. Do you wanna know if I love Dave?" John held his breath while he waited for her answer. "Yes, I do. Not only because I thought we would be together, but also because he was the closet thing I had in this business since day one. He had watched me and protected me from the first time I walked backstage at an event. I never had to doubt who I was around him because he knew me. He knew me and he understood me. That's why it hurt like hell when Rebecca became more important than me. I was so dependent on him that I forgot what it was like to stand on my own two feet."

Vanessa wiped her eyes and placed her hands on John's cheeks. "You brought a fire back out in me that I hadn't seen in a long time. You were fun and no worries and that's what I needed. I needed to get over the betrayal and have some fun. You offered me that outlet and I would be lying if I said I didn't grow to have serious feelings for you."

John wasn't sure how to react. This was the most Vanessa had spoke about her feelings in the entire time that they had known one another and he would be damned if he was going to stop her from finishing what she had to say.

"I don't like the idea of hurting you John, because when all this is over, I want to still be your friend. God, that sounds so cliché and corny, but I swear it's true."

John looked at the deep brown eyes of Vanessa's and it hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn't just care about this woman, he was falling in love with her and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He brushed the long black hair from her face and kissed her lips gently.

"John?"

"Yes, beautiful?"

"I know about Maria." Vanessa gave the statement in such a whisper; John had to lean down to hear her.

"What do you know?"

"I know that she's a nice girl and she likes you a lot. I also know that she would be able to give you more than I ever could. You are an amazing man, John and you need an equally amazing woman who will be willing to give you her mind, body and heart. I'm not sure if I can do that just now and I would hate to have you waiting around until I am able to."

Her explanation amazed and angered John at the same time. As much as he was hoping that she would run in his arms and promise him the world, reality taught him that she was not over Dave, not by a long shot. On the other hand, he was amazed at the idea that all Vanessa wanted from him was to be happy. He wasn't sure if that meant being with Maria or not. At the same time, he knew that right now, it didn't mean being with Vanessa. No matter how desperately he wanted to be her first choice, he knew he couldn't be.

"Do me a favor, sweetheart. Look at me." Vanessa raised her eyes to meet John's. "Go and find him and find out once and for all where you stand. Don't let him walk away until you know for sure, but it you love him that much, you need to really tell him. No running this time, Ness."

Vanessa nodded and knew what she had to do. She kissed John on the lips and went for the door. Before she walked out she turned around to face her now former lover.

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

John forced a smile as he best he could. "You're welcome. But Ness, if it doesn't work out, I'll still be here whenever you need me." John watched Vanessa walk out of the room and felt torn. He wanted her to be happy but a part of him was hoping she would be returning back to the room soon.

* * *

_Another chapter down. I'm still not completely sold on who the final pairing will be but you guys really gave some good advice, so stay turned._


	13. Chapter 13

_Vanessa is mine…_

* * *

She ran towards the elevator like her life depended on it. In a way, it did. When she finally made it to the right hotel door, she paused before knocking. Was she ready for this? Was Vanessa honestly prepared to deal with the possible rejection from the man that she loved and her former best friend? What if he didn't want her? What if he laughed in her face and humiliated her? What if he and Rebecca were fucking right now?

Vanessa found herself backing away from the door. There was no way she could do this. She couldn't possible knock on the door. Before she could turn around, the door swung open and Vanessa swore she might faint.

"How long did you plan on pacing outside my room?" Dave looked down at the petite woman. He noticed the redness in her eyes and realized that she had been crying. He quickly ushered Vanessa into his room and got her a glass of water. In the entire time that he had known each other, Dave could only recall two times that he had seen her cry.

Vanessa sat down with her hands in her lap and her head down. How was she going to even explain herself right now? She looked and felt like a fool for even being there.

_What are you doing, Ness? You have a great guy that is back at your hotel room right now willing to give you everything you ever wanted and you are still chasing some dream about you and Dave. _

"Vanessa?" Vanessa looked up to see Dave staring at her with concern. "What's a matter?" Dave thought about it for a minute and realized that the last time he saw Vanessa; she was going in a room with John Cena. Dave immediately felt his blood boiling.

"Did John hurt you?"

"God, no. Why would you even think that?"

"It's just that the last time I saw you, you were with Cena. I just thought maybe…"

"You saw me and John together?"

Dave nodded. "I went to see you earlier and I saw you and John go into your room together."

Vanessa shut her eyes. Her life just went from bad to worse in the matter of seconds. How was she supposed to explain to Dave how she felt knowing that he probably already had an idea of what was going on between John and Vanessa?

"Why were you coming to see me?"

Dave sighed and pulled up a chair. He then grabbed Vanessa's hands in his. Dave was never a big talker. He was always a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. One thing he hated more than anything else was to talk about his feelings. On the other hand, he realized how close he was to losing Vanessa before and he wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again.

"I figured I would give you some time to cool off after what happened that afternoon during lunch. I had a lot of time to think about what you said and you were right. I had been neglecting everyone and pulling away, especially from you and it wasn't fair. I was an asshole, Nessa and I didn't quite see that."

"Why? Why did you pull away from me of all people?"

"Honestly? I started to have feelings for you, Ness; ones that went beyond friendship." Dave quickly raised his hand to stop her from speaking. "On the flip side of that, I know how I am. I did the relationship thing and look how good that worked out the first time. I wanted to have companionship but not necessarily a relationship." Dave stood up and moved by the window.

Vanessa was shocked at his admission. She thought that the reason why he pulled away was because he know longer had a need for her. Come to find out, he was just trying to protect her. All of a sudden, Vanessa found herself very angry.

"That was such a load of bullshit. How dare you think that you have the right to decide what's good or bad for me? I am an adult and any feelings that you harbored towards me, you should have just discussed it with me. But, noooooo, you had to run off with some skank bimbo bitch who didn't like me, your friends, or your kids. So tell me Dave, how did that remotely make your life any fucking easier?"

"It sounded like a good idea at the time. I would just hang with Rebecca and it would just be a casual thing. That way, no feelings would get hurt and I wouldn't have to go through another bad breakup."

"That makes no fucking sense. I waited for you for two fucking years. TWO YEARS. I did everything I could to make you notice me and the only thing that you can say is that you didn't want to hurt me!!!"

"Believe or not, Ness, it's true. You and I both know how fidelity has not exactly been my strong suit. I just couldn't do that to you. I didn't want to hurt you the way I hurt Angie."

"So it's better to push me away? You know, you really need to work on your people skills, cause it sucks ass."

Dave smirked. "Thanks for the advice."

Vanessa was pacing the floor, mumbling to herself. "I can't fucking believe his big ass had the audacity to even think about putting me through all this bullshit. I have half a mind to kick his fucking ass."

"Ness?" Vanessa whipped around with fire in her eyes.

"WHAT?"

"Nothing. Just thought you might burn a whole in my carpet if you didn't slow down."

"Fuck off."

Dave moved so that he was mere inches away from Vanessa. "Vanessa, I love you. You are my best friend and you have always been there for me. But I am not good for you. Deep down, you know that too. We have been through so much together and the last thing I want to do is to ever hurt you. Especially now that I have seen how much I have already hurt you. You need someone better than me. You need someone that can concentrate fully on you, cause baby girl, you deserve it."

Vanessa felt tears spring to her eyes for the second time that day. Didn't she just get done giving the same speech to John almost a half an hour ago? Vanessa leaned in to Dave's arms and held on. Truth be told, he was right. They would always be friends and maybe it was better if they didn't jeopardize it. Maybe the loved she thought she had for Dave was due to the loneliness in her life. Maybe she just wanted to be with someone who knew her the way Dave did. Dave rubbed her back and spoke softly.

"So, are we good?"

For the first time in a long time, Vanessa felt safe again in Dave's arms. Maybe they weren't meant to be together but at least she hadn't lost him completely. "Yeah, we're good."

Dave picked Vanessa up and laid her down on the bed. She laid her head on the pillow and sighed. Today had been a whirlwind for her and she wasn't sure how to deal with everything. Dave laid down beside and wrapped his arms around her.

"So, tell me exactly what's going on with you and John?" Vanessa looked up with surprise in her eyes.

"How did you know?"

"Cause I know you." Vanessa smiled and started from the beginning.

After a couple of hours of hashing out all of their problems, Vanessa left to find Trish and Lisa. She had made the decision that she wasn't going to stand in the way of John's happiness. She told him to pursue Maria and she meant it. Even though Dave thought they would make a cute couple, Vanessa decided against it. She had already spent too much time being indecisive and it wasn't fair to John.

* * *

Just as she closed the door, she nearly collided with someone. Vanessa looked up to apologize and quickly decided against it.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes. "Why the fuck were you just leaving my boyfriend's hotel room?"


	14. Chapter 14

_So I made a decision about the pairing, but I still have a little bit more drama left in me for the duration of this story. I plan on starting my new story very soon, but I need some help. I'm not sure if I want to do an OrtonOC or a DaveOC story. Which would you rather read, especially because this one didn't turn out quite as I had expected. Let me know. _

* * *

Vanessa knew it was too good to be true. Her life had become a soap opera and staring into the eyes of Rebecca proved that to be true, now more than ever. Just as she starts to get all of her ducks in a row, something else just had to happen.

"Get out of my way." Vanessa tried to maneuver around Rebecca, but Rebecca quickly grabbed onto her arm.

"I asked you a question." Rebecca glared at Vanessa. She was so sick of everyone fawning all over Ness like she was something special and now, seeing her walk out of Dave's room, was just too much for the young woman.

Vanessa looked down at Rebecca's hand on her arm and pulled back. "This is the second time you done that. If I were you, I wouldn't make it a third."

"Answer my question."

"Ask your boyfriend."

"I'm asking you." Vanessa rubbed her temples. Her patience was wearing very thin with the young woman and she was sure she was going to lose her cool in about five seconds.

"It's none of your business."

"You are in my boyfriend's hotel room and you have the nerve to tell me it's not my business. Let me tell you something, he is mine, so why don't you find someone else to follow around, you little lapdog? I can see right through you, you little bitch. I am letting you know now, stay away from Dave!!"

Vanessa glared at Rebecca and it hit her. Everything that she had been through these past couple of months had been Rebecca's fault. From the miscommunication with her and Dave to Vanessa hurting John, had all been because of the woman standing in front of her. Vanessa couldn't take it anymore.

"What did you just call me?"

Rebecca flipped her hair to the side and smirked. "Didn't you hear me? I said stay away from him, you little bit…"

Before Rebecca had a chance to finish her sentence, Vanessa reached back and hit her as hard as she could, causing the young woman to fall down and grab her nose. Vanessa kneeled down and grabbed a fist full of Rebecca's hair with her left hand. Using her right fist, she just kept hitting the young woman, causing her to scream out in pain.

Meanwhile, Paul and Stephanie had decided to come back on the road for a little bit. Paul was growing tired of sitting at the house and Stephanie was growing tired of listening to him bitch. They were on their way to visit Dave. When they got off the elevator, they heard a woman screaming. Stephanie looked down the hall to see Vanessa on top of Rebecca, her fists flying all over the place. Stephanie and Paul rushed to try to help. Unfortunately, due to Paul's crutches, Stephanie some how got caught in between the two.

"Damn it, Ness. Get off her. You are going to kill her!!"

Vanessa seemed to block out everything around her. The only thing that she was concerned about was making Rebecca pay for everything she did. Paul hurriedly went to knock on Dave's hotel room door. As soon as Dave opened the door and saw the commotion in the hallway, he moved to grab Vanessa. However, Vanessa wasn't done yet. Even though, Dave held her back securely by the waist, Vanessa was able to latch on to Rebecca's hair refusing to let go.

"Nessa, let go. Come on, baby, let go of her." Dave's protest was doing no good, over Rebecca's yelling. Dave finally got Vanessa to loosen the grip on Rebecca. He quickly moved so that there was a safe distance between the two females.

Rebecca could barely breathe. Her head hurt and her face was covered in blood. She couldn't believe that Vanessa had the nerve to hit her. She also couldn't believe that Dave was more concerned about Vanessa than her.

Paul moved from his spot on the wall. "What the hell happened here?"

"THAT BITCH ATTACKED ME!" Rebecca screamed through her tears. Vanessa lunged forward but Dave caught her. Vanessa wildly looked around and grabbed one of Paul's crutches that was resting on the wall. She reached up to swing it towards Rebecca but Dave caught it first.

"Come on, girlie. Let's go downstairs." Vanessa focused her eyes, and for the first time noticed that she had an audience. She took one more look at Rebecca before allowing Stephanie to lead her away.

* * *

The girls went downstairs to the hotel bar and Vanessa ordered a shot. As she finally was able to register what happened, she looked down at her blood covered hand. _How the hell could I have lost control like that? _As if on cue, Stephanie came back holding a towel and some ointment. Neither woman said a word as Stephanie bandaged up Vanessa's hand, while Vanessa used her free hand to drink shot after shot of Jack Daniels.

"Darlin, are you alright?" Vanessa looked up to see Mark, Lisa, Trish, Steve, Paul, Glenn, and Randy looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Dave?" Vanessa asked Paul.

"He took Rebecca to the hospital." She slowly nodded as all of her friends sat around her. She took a breath and told everyone what happened upstairs.

After she finished, she looked around the table at everyone's shocked expressions. Although no one doubted that Vanessa could hold her own, other than the incident with Sharmell, Vanessa had never been one to lose her temper. All of sudden, Mark started to laugh. His deep rumble laughter took everyone off guard.

"Hell, I always knew you were a hellcat." Steve and Glenn joined in the laughter while Steve made a remark that everyone deserves a drink after that.

Vanessa solemnly looked down. "I didn't mean to hurt her that way. I just, I just…"

Trish grabbed Vanessa's hand. "There is no need to explain. That bitch deserved everything that was coming to her."

Lisa placed a hand on Vanessa's shoulder. "Yeah. We all knew it was only a matter of time before you finally snapped."

Vanessa cracked a smile. She now understood why these people around the table were her friends. Everyone continued drinking and laughing about their very own "De La Hoya." Vanessa looked at the corner of her eye and saw Maria sitting with Candice Michelle and Lilian Garcia. She went over to say hi.

"Hey girls."

"Hey Ness."

"Maria, can I talk to you for a minute?" The young woman nodded and excused herself from her friends. Vanessa and Maria weren't exactly best friends, but they were cordial to one another. Either way, Maria was slightly curious as to why Vanessa wanted to speak with her.

"I know it's none of my business, but I was just wondering, did you have a chance to ask John out yet?"

"Yeah, but he said he wasn't sure." Vanessa looked at the woman in front of her and felt bad. She knew that gleam that was evident in Maria's eye and she knew what she had to do.

"Ask him again. I'm sure you might like the answer." Vanessa offered the woman a smile and walked away.

She felt her phone ringing and struggled to get it off her hip while going back to the table with her friends.

"Hello?"

"Vanessa, It's Vince. I need to see you immediately. Go to the conference room in the lobby."

Vanessa hung up the phone and sighed. _Shit, I'm in trouble now._


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry guys, but I seem to be on a role today…._

* * *

Vanessa cleaned the kitchen while blasting old school Patti Labelle. Thanks to her mother, Vanessa had a fondness for old school R&B music. She was singing along to "On My Own" as she scrubbed down the sink. It had been a week since the infamous fight between her and Rebecca in the hotel. Since then she had seen herself suspended for a month. She knew it was hard on Vince to serve her that punishment, but given the circumstances, he had no other choice. He told her that had it had just been a verbal assault or even if she had only suffered minor injuries, he would be able to let her off the hook. Due to the fact that Rebecca suffered a broken jaw, and a cracked rib, Vince had to do something for fear of Vanessa suffering ridicule from any of her coworkers. She's was one of his best writers but she was also one of Stephanie's best friends, so it made things even more hard for her. The only good thing was she was still receiving a paycheck and she had all month to hang out. She finally got a chance to enjoy her condo and the city that she lived in. Being on the road didn't allow much of that over the past two years.

As for Rebecca, Vince decided that she just wasn't cut out to be in this business. He let her go, but made sure she had a nice severance pay, and that she signed a confidentiality agreement. Dave broke up with her that same day saying that she had helped to ruin his life and he wouldn't let that happen again. When Vanessa asked Dave what he was going to do without his "companion", he smirked and reminded her that they didn't call him an "animal" for nothing. Dave also reminded Vanessa that he needed to spend more time working on all the relationships he put on the back burner for Rebecca.

Vanessa heard through Trish that Maria had indeed asked John out again and he did say yes. Although, according to Trish and Randy, he wasn't exactly thrilled about it.

Vanessa heard her phone ringing and turned the music down.

"Hello"

"Did I interrupt something? You sound a little hot and bothered."

"As a matter of fact I was about to make love to some soap scum, care to join me Stratus?"

"Maybe some other time. Why don't you come over tonight? We could chill, drink, the usual shit."

Vanessa paused before answering. "Who all is going to be there?"

"The normal crowd. It's not going to be anything too big."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass. I have a lot of cleaning to do."

"Bitch, you have the next three weeks to scrub your house spotless. Bring you ass to the house around 5ish."

"Sorry, no can do this time. I got to get back to cleaning. Call me later. Love ya. Bye." Vanessa quickly hung up the phone and turned the music back up.

To be honest, she didn't want to run the risk of running into John. She knew that she was doing the right thing by staying away from him, but it didn't stop her from missing him like hell. It didn't hit her until these past couple of days how much she really missed him. Especially after everything with Rebecca, it felt weird to not go to John with everything.

Vanessa knew that she had hurt John and she was determined not to do it again. Her roller coaster feelings had taken both of them for a ride, and Vanessa felt guilty about that already. She wasn't sure if John and she had ever had a future, but after throwing John and Maria together, she was sure that they would never found out.

* * *

Randy Orton sat on the countertop as his girlfriend hung up the phone.

"Well?" He asked while munching on a chip.

Trish shook her head. "She said she's not coming."

"You think maybe she doesn't want to run into Dave?"

"No I think maybe she's avoiding John." Trish sat deep in thought while she wrapped her arms around Randy's waist.

"What are you thinking about?" Randy knew his girlfriend very well. Whenever she got that look on her face, she was up to no good.

"Just thinking." Like a light bulb, an idea popped in Trish's head. She looked over at Randy and smiled. Noticing that gleam in her eye, Randy tried to back away from her.

"Whatever it is, you can forget about it. I know that look Trisha and the answer is no. I'm not getting involved in our friend's lives. Had people just kept shit to themselves, none of this would have happened in the first place. Oh no, remove your hand from there. That's not going to work this time." His pleas went unheard as Trish reached in his boxers shorts and started teasing Randy. Just as she was prepared to have to wrap her lips around him, he stopped her.

"Fine. What do you need me to do? By the way, you don't play fair."

Trish leaned over and bit his earlobe. "I never do."

* * *

Vanessa looked over at the clock. It was a little after three and she had made sure her home was immaculate. She decided to make herself a margarita and hang out on the balcony and read herself a book.

Just as she got done blending her drink, the doorbell rang. Curious as to who would be there, she quickly answered the door.

"Randy, Paul, Dave?? What the hell are the three of you doing here?"

The three men walked in the house and quickly stopped. Randy was the first to comment.

"Damn, welcome to the Vanessa Museum. Is it alright if we sit down?"

"Yeah sure. What's up guys, why are you here?"

"We missed you."

"Dave I talked to you this morning, and Paul, I saw you the other night. Randy, I...I..."

"You've been avoiding me."

Vanessa immediately got defensive. "I have not. I have just been busy that's all."

"Yeah, busy trying to have a bleach overdose. It's alright, I know you want John so that's why you don't want to come over, and being that he's my neighbor and all."

Vanessa felt her cheeks getting red. "I DO NOT want John. We are friends, nothing more."

While Dave enjoyed the blatant approach that Randy was using, he also knew Vanessa and he knew that sometimes, she had to be handled with kid gloves. He moved up to stand next to her in the kitchen.

"You know we all love you, right? We just want to see you happy."

"I am happy, Dave. I promise. You would be the first one to know if I wasn't."

Randy wasn't buying until Vanessa's bullshit. "What if I told you that Maria and John went out on a date and realized they had nothing in comment? Matter of fact, John ended up introducing Maria to that CM kid and they hit it off."

Inside Vanessa was jumping for joy, but she didn't want to seem over eager. She knew that she wasn't in love with John but she was lying to herself when she said that she didn't care about him.

"I would say good for Maria and I hope John finds someone too."

"Bullshit." Vanessa looked over at Paul, who had remained quiet, the majority of the conversation.

"Excuse me?"

"I said bullshit. You have the same look in your eye that you had when you were chasing Dave around all these years."

"Hey!! I resent that."

"Ok. Bottom line is you have two choices. You can continue to lie to yourself and deny yourself any kind of happiness or you can go balls to the wall and let everything hang out. Maybe you and John aren't meant to be together, but by hiding in this house you will never know. Stop being so fucking stubborn, Ness."

Vanessa glared at the three men. _Who the hell do they think they are by coming in my house, and insulting me?_

"Are you three done yet?"

Randy stood up. "Yeah, let's get out of here. All this chick talk is making me yearn for a football game and a beer." The three guys said goodbye as Vanessa slammed her door.

Once outside, Dave looked over at Randy. "Hey Orton?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did the girls want us to go over there? Couldn't they have done this shit themselves?"

"According to Trish…" The other two men rolled their eyes. "Anyway, she says that we are giving Ness the other part of the spectrum. The girls keep giving her the same advice, so Trish feels like if it comes from us, she might take it differently."

The three boys nodded in agreement. As they got in the car, Paul spoke up. "I never thought I would see the day."

Dave looked as his friend. "What?"

"When Randy became the pussy of the group." The two men laughed as Randy defended his manhood in the backseat.

* * *

_Three chapters in one day. WHEW. I'm exhausted. I might not update again until Thursday cause I have midterms tomorrow. But until then, keep the reviews and ideas coming._


	16. Chapter 16

_Thanks everyone for the support. This story should only be about three or four more chapters. Hope you enjoy. By the way, only Vanessa is mine._

* * *

Vanessa sat in her living room, bored out of her mind. She still had two more weeks before she could get back on the road. Unfortunately, she was running out of things to do. She did everything possible to keep herself occupied and now she was out of options. She leaned back and watched yet another mindless talk show on TV. In the background, she heard her phone ringing, but she chose to ignore it.

She had been ignoring all of her friends since her little visit from the boys last week. She knew everyone meant well, but she was tired of everyone else trying to decipher her life. All she wanted was to go back to the way things were. However, she knew it was impossible. In the matter of weeks, her life had gone from having everything, to having nothing. She was avoiding her friends, suspended from her job and personally handed over one of the best things that ever walked into her life, to someone else.

She wanted to be able to point the blame at anyone other than herself, but she knew she couldn't. The events that occurred were all her fault and she had the option of either doing something about it, or continue to wallow in self-pity. Looking at the television screen, Vanessa rolled her eyes. She turned the TV off and went to jump in the shower.

She quickly got dressed and went to grab her keys. She glanced at her cell phone and noticed that she had missed twenty six calls today alone. She didn't even want to look at the phone for fear of who might have called. She placed the phone back on the counter and ran out the door.

Vanessa went outside to get into her car, but before she could open the door, she felt someone grab her arm. On instinct, she pulled back her other arm, and swung.

"Ouch, damn it." She looked up to see Mark holding his stomach and glaring at her.

"Mark. What the hell, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Why the hell haven't you been picking up your phone?"

"Cause I don't feel like talking right now. What's the big deal? You do know that you live in Texas, right? Why the hell are you in Florida?"

Mark looked down at the young woman. "You really have no idea, do you?"

Vanessa was becoming very agitated with the deadman, very quickly. "Know what, Mark?"

"John got into a car accident last night. There not sure what happened, but it's pretty serious darlin."

Vanessa felt the air being sucked out of her. She felt dizzy and incoherent. "What…how…when?"

"He was driving home from the airport and this car came out in front of him. He went to swerve around the car and lost control. We have been calling you all morning. Where the fuck were you?"

"I…I" Vanessa was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to react. She had tried to avoid John for fear that she would hurt him, now she was faced with the thought of losing him.

Mark looked at Vanessa with concern. Her face had gotten very flushed and he was worried that she might pass out at any given moment.

"Ness?"

Vanessa looked up at Mark with tears filling her eyes. "He's going to be ok, right?"

"I don't know, sweetie. But let's go to the hospital now." Mark grabbed her arm but Vanessa pulled back.

"I…I can't go, Mark."

"Why the hell not?"

"I can't see him like that. What will everyone think of me after I have been avoiding them all this time? God, they must think I am the world's biggest bitch."

Mark leaned down so that his green eyes met Vanessa's brown. "This is not the time to worry about other people. You need to get your ass in the car and stop playing around, Ness." With that said, Mark pulled Vanessa into the car and slammed the door.

* * *

Vanessa hated hospitals. Everything from the smell, to the people, freaked her out. It brought her back to a time and place that she had tried so desperately to forget. Riding on the elevator, Vanessa kept her focus on her sneakers. She didn't want to face all her friends right now. She didn't want to deal with the idea that John might really be hurt. She just didn't want to deal with any of it.

The bell from the elevator brought her out of her thoughts as Mark pulled her down the corridor. Before Vanessa could even react to what was going on around her, she was enveloped into a hug. When she finally pulled back, she was face to face with Trish.

"Are you ok?" Vanessa could merely nod. She was scared if she opened her mouth, she might start to cry. She looked over to the waiting area and she saw Randy, Dave, Paul, Stephanie, Lisa, and a few of John's brothers. She slowly walked forward and accepted the hugs that were given by everyone.

Vanessa felt like the room was spinning and she needed to sit down quickly before she passed out. She looked to her left and met the eyes of the man who knew the pain that she was going through. Other than Mark, Dave was the only one who knew about the tragic car accident that took her sister from her at the age of sixteen. He was one of the few people to know why it was so hard for her to be in the hospital, under these circumstances.

She walked over to Dave and crawled into his lap. She closed her eyes as he gently stroked her back and whispered soothing words into her ear. It was a time like this that Vanessa was grateful for Dave being in her life. He may not be the one she was meant to be with, but he was her best friend and her most trusted confidante, and that was all she needed him to be.

After a while of sitting, Vanessa jumped at the sound of a table eating the wall. She looked up to see Randy pacing the floor.

"What the fuck is taking so long? Why don't we know anything?"

Trish placed an arm on Randy to try to calm him. "Baby, we will know as soon as he gets out of surgery."

Randy yanked his arm back. "Don't fucking patronize me right now, Trisha. That's my best, fucking friend lying there and I deserve to know what the fuck is going on with him." Trish winced at his words and quickly leaned down in her chair. She knew that Randy didn't mean to be so hurtful, but it didn't stop her heart from stinging.

Vanessa moved off of Dave's lap and stood in front of Randy. The two locked eyes and stared at one another. Truth be told, Vanessa would be the only one who truly understood how Randy was feeling right now. Randy saw the same pain in Vanessa's eyes that he was feeling. He quickly felt his knees buckling and went down. Vanessa grabbed him and he held onto her for dear life. They both sat there and let themselves cry.

Once Randy was ok, he sat down and held Trish and Vanessa's hand. Vanessa, in turn, grabbed Dave's hand for support. The next couple of hours were sat in silence as everyone said a silent prayer for one of their own.

The doctor made his way towards the group of adults that had endured almost ten hours of waiting with no explanation. At the sound of feet, everyone turned to look at him.

"I have some news about Mr. Cena."


	17. Chapter 17

Vanessa quickly said a prayer before the doctor continued.

_Please, God. Don't take my friend. Please._

Everyone stood up and looked at the doctor. Mark was the first to speak. "Well, is he going to be ok?"

"Amazingly, enough, yes. John took a pretty bad hit from the impact of the car and he lost a lot of blood. Fortunately, he has a common blood type, so getting him donated blood was not the issue. He had a mild concussion and a lot of bruising. He also broken his left shoulder, but all in all, given the circumstances; your friend is very very lucky."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Randy touched the doctor's shoulder as he turned to walk away.

"Can we see him?"

The doctor looked around at the tired and worried expressions on everyone's face. He found it endearing that no one had left the hospital since the news of their friend. He looked at the time and noticed how late it was.

"I can give you all five minutes." Everyone nodded and headed down the corridor. Everyone but Vanessa. Dave glanced back and saw her frozen in her chair.

"Come on, princess. Let's go see John."

"He's really going to be ok?"

Dave nodded and held Vanessa's hand, pulling her up. "Looks like it. You know what that means now, don't you?"

Vanessa laid her head on Dave's massive bicep as they walked towards the room. "What?"

"It means you are given a second chance. A chance that not many people get, don't fuck it up this time."

Vanessa opened her mouth to retort, but realized she didn't have anything to say. Dave was right. She could have lost John tonight and she didn't ever want to have to face anything like that ever again.

They walked in the room and Vanessa stood at the end of the bed in between Dave and Mark.

She softly smiled as she heard Randy tell John to hurry and wake up so he could start kicking John's ass on the basketball court. A lot of people can make assumptions about Randy, but seeing him there with tears in his eyes, gave Vanessa a newfound respect for the young wrestler. He may be brash, rude, and an asshole, but deep down, he really does care about those around him.

Everyone said their goodbyes to a sleeping John and left Vanessa standing there. Mark placed a kiss on her forehead and gave her a small smirk. "I will wait for you in the car, sweetie." Vanessa looked at Mark and was about to protest him leaving her, when he just walked around the room.

Vanessa let out a shaky breath and moved closer to John. Looking at his handsome features, she couldn't help but smile. It amazed her how a man could have such amazingly strong features. She gently ran her finger down the side of his cheek, resting on his jaw. She sat down at the chair next to him and held his hand.

"John, I am so sorry. I am sorry that you are here. I am sorry that this happened to you. I am sorry for ignoring you these past few weeks, I just…"

"Miss?" Vanessa looked up at the nurse standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry but your time is up."

Vanessa slowly nodded and stood up. She gently placed a kiss on John's forehead and walked out the room.

* * *

John had been released from the hospital three days afterwards. He was allowed to go back on the road in about a week, the same time Vanessa would be returning to work. John's mom kept reminding John how lucky he was giving the circumstances. John certainly didn't feel lucky. His arm hurt, he was bored out of his mind and he was running out of options. Thankfully, Trish and Lisa made it their mission to stock the house with all the necessities that a man needed. He was grateful for everything they were doing, but there was one person who had yet to come and see him since the accident.

"Yo, Cena?" Randy, Dave and Paul came barreling through the door carrying pizza and beer. The three men came to see him before they headed back on the road.

"In the living room."

The three men sat down and started grabbing slices of pizza. John happily joined in, anything to get his mind off a certain petite brunette.

"What's going on, guys?"

"Nothing. How's the arm holding up?"

"As good as to be expected I guess."

"Damn shame that it's your right arm. Jacking off must be hard." Randy threw John his trademark smirk and moved quickly as a pillow was thrown at his head.

"Very funny motherfucker, very funny." The four men settled into a comfortable silence while they watched Sports Center. Everyone once in a while the three friends would look at John and then look back at each other. This didn't go unnoticed by John.

"Guys, what? Other than the fact that I am incredible sexy, why are the three of you staring at me?"

Dave was the first to speak. "Being that I know you must be heavily medicated to be that delusional, I'm gonna let that comment slide." John rolled his eyes.

"Dude, when are you just going to ask us?" Randy asked while grabbing another beer.

"Ask about what?"

"NESS!!" The men said in unison.

"What about Ness?"

Paul propped his feet on John's coffee table. "Face it, you have been wanting to ask us about her since your crippled ass woke up from the hospital and the answer is yes."

John furrowed his brow. "Yes, what?"

"Yes she was at the hospital. She stayed all night to make sure that you are ok."

"Why would this information be important to me?"

"Cause your punk ass has been worried about it all week. Why don't you call her?"

"Cause she is avoiding me, in case you didn't notice."

Dave quietly chuckled causing the WWE Champion to glare at him. "What the hell is so funny?"

"I just noticed how perfect the two of you are for one another. You both are hard headed and fucking stubborn."

"She wanted you Dave."

"But she needed you, John."

"Whatever."

"Call her."

"No"

"Punk ass."

"Orton, stop talking." John grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the television.

The three men glanced at one another. They were all hoping the girls were having better luck.


	18. Chapter 18

Vanessa opened the front door and couldn't control her eyes from rolling in the back of her head.

"I do not want to hear the words John, visit, or stubborn come out of anyone of yours mouth. Got me?"

The three women nodded as they walked in Vanessa's house, each carrying a different item with them. Trish brought snacks, Lisa brought movies and Stephanie brought booze.

The women retreated into the kitchen to get started on their day. Vanessa was surprised to see that everyone had gone five minutes without mentioning John's name. Although she knew it was only a matter of time.

"So what movies did you bring?"

Lisa reached in her bag. "Just a little bit of everything." Lisa put the movies on the counter and Vanessa went through the stack. Most of them were romantic comedies with the exception of the last one. She held the movie up and accusingly pointed it at the three women in front of her.

"What the hell is this?"

Lisa feigned shock. "What?"

Vanessa held up the copy of The Marine. "This. I thought we agreed we were not going to talk about John."

Stephanie took a sip from her drink. "We are not going to talk about him; we are going to watch him."

Trish hopped on top of the countertop and reached for a piece of celery. "Yeah, Ness, it's fine. Besides you said not to use the words John, visit or stubborn and we won't."

"Thank you."

Trish smirked at the brunette. "However, we can talk about how a certain writer won't go and see the very cute and very single WWE champion because she's acting like a donkey's ass." Stephanie, Trish and Lisa laughed at the expression on Vanessa's face. Vanessa stuck out her tongue and grabbed her drink. The four women retreated into the living room to start their movie day.

* * *

Fours hours and two movies later, the women were growing restless waiting for Vanessa to say something, anything. Trish shut off the DVD player, Lisa turned on the radio and Stephanie went and got everyone a refill on their drinks.

Vanessa knew she was killing the girls by remaining completely silent doing their little movie marathon. Although the scene where John carried his "wife" from the yard to the bedroom made Vanessa cross her legs a little tighter.

"Hey Li?" Lisa looked over Trish.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering if you were going to Jay's party or not." Jay, also known as Christian, was throwing his annual barbeque in two weeks. Lisa and Jay were dating for nearly three years when he left for TNA, taking Lisa's heart with him.

Lisa fumbled with her hands as she kept or head down. "I don't know. I probably won't go though. I haven't seen him since Mark's barbeque and even that was a little awkward. Plus I heard he was dating Traci now and I'm not sure if I am ready to see that."

"Why haven't you started dating again, Li? It's been almost two years." Lisa put on a smile as best she could. "I can't make my heart lie. There is a part of me that will always love Jay and until a man comes along that's strong enough to replace that love, why bother?"

"I know what you mean. When Chris and I broke up, it was hard. I loved him so much that being without him felt like a part of me was missing. I decide that I was going to enjoy being single and do everything I couldn't do before."

Vanessa looked over at Trish. "So what happened?"

"I woke up one morning with a sever hangover with a Legend Killer beside me. I don't how it happened but all of sudden being with him felt right. Randy may be immature, egotistical and a severe pain in the ass at least ten times a day, but it works. He lets me be me without having to play the "diva" role all the time." Trish took a sip and set the cup back down on the table. "Besides, Randy has to be hands down, the best fuck of my life. What woman in their right mind is going to pass that up?"

The four women shared a laugh. Vanessa turned to Stephanie. "What about you, Steph? How did you know Paul was it for you?"

Paul and Stephanie had one of the most controversial relationships in wrestling history. She was Daddy's Little Princess and he was the rising wrestler. Both knew the ridicule that they would have to endure by being together, but they took a chance. Seven years, and one baby later, their theory seemed to be working for them.

Stephanie played with the ends of her hair. "I don't know. I felt bad for Joanie, I really did. But when we would be out there and he would have his arm around me, I would turn into a little teenage girl all over again. I loved everything about him..."

"Even the nose?" Stephanie stuck her tongue out at Trish.

"Ok, well I have learned to even love the nose. There was just a lot of passion there between us. I knew if I let anyone stop us from being together, it would have been the worst mistake of my life."

Vanessa grabbed a handful of chips and sighed. "Wow."

"What?"

"I wish someone would believe me if I told them."

"Told them what?"

"Told them how the big, bad, billion dollar bitch is such an innocent little giggly girl when it comes to the man who once got his rocks off by fucking a mannequin." The three girls erupted into laughter.

"Very funny. At least the three of us can admit we are in love, you on the other hand, continue to deny it. There is nothing wrong with the way you feel about him."

Vanessa tensed up but Stephanie silenced her with her hand. "Nessa, just hear us out and then we will be completely done with this subject."

Vanessa sat back and folded her arms. "Fine. Go ahead."

"You said yourself that John was a great guy and that he was something special. So why not take the chance? Maybe you guys aren't meant to spend the rest of your lives together but you will never know unless you try."

"Steph's right, Ness. I don't know what tomorrow brings for me and Randy. But I know that I'm happy and I love him and if it ends tomorrow, at least I can say I never regretted a moment of it. Will you be able to do the same?"

"Look at me Ness. I let my stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise stand in the way of love and now I kick myself everyday when I see him on TV looking happier and healthier than I have ever seen him. Makes me wish I would've fought harder, you know?"

Vanessa closed her eyes as she tried to process everything that she just heard. "What if he doesn't want me? What if I fucked things up so badly that he thinks I am this crazy psycho bitch who likes to fuck with people's emotions?"

"You are a crazy psycho bitch." The three women said in unison, causing Vanessa to laugh.

Trish grabbed the writer's hand and squeezed it. "You will never know until you try."

* * *

John cringed in pain for the 7th time in the past five minutes. One of the worst things about having a broken arm is that little things like finding a comfortable position to sleep in, because a luxury. He looked over at the clock and noticed it was almost five in the morning. Figuring he wasn't going to get much sleep, John padded downstairs to get a glass of juice. He looked outside at the rain pouring down. The shitty weather seemed to resemble his life as of late. After the guys left, John spent a lot of time thinking about what they said. He couldn't make Vanessa want him. He headed back upstairs when he heard a soft knock on his front door. Getting ready to just dismiss it as rain, John continued his journey back to bed. However, the knocking came again, this time a little bit more persistent.

_Who the hell could that be this early in the morning? _John opened the door ready to cuss out whoever was on the other side of that door. When he opened the door, though, all thoughts stopped. Standing before him was the woman who had been his dreams for the past month. She stood in front of him soaked to the bone, wearing nothing more than a tank top and a pair of pajama pants. Vanessa held John's gaze as she offered him a small smile.

"Can we talk?"


	19. Chapter 19

John was scared to blink for fear that this was some sick dream and he was going to wake up and she wouldn't be there. Instead he just stood there staring at her trying to memorize everything about her from head to toe.

Vanessa softly giggled. "Well, can I come in?"

John quickly nodded and moved to let her in. He suddenly realized that it wasn't the medication; she was actually standing in front of him. She was also soaked to the bone. He went to the downstairs bathroom and grabbed her some towels.

Vanessa started to fidget. She didn't really know what she was doing there. After the discussion with the girls, she found herself unable to sleep. She tossed and turned until she couldn't take it anymore. Without even bothering to get properly dressed, she hurriedly got in her car. After driving for what seemed like forever, she found herself in front of John's house. Before she could chicken out, she quickly knocked on the door. Vanessa thought that John would be sleep and that way she could at least say that she tried.

"Do you want some coffee?" Vanessa pulled herself away from her thoughts and nodded.

They both sat in the kitchen sipping their coffee and not saying a word. John got up to put his mug in the sink when he felt a sharp pain shoot through his shoulder, down his arm. He dropped the mug and leaned on the counter for support. Before he could even register the pain, he felt a small pair of arms on his shoulder. He looked down at the concerned filled eyes of Vanessa.

"Are you alright? Can I get you anything?"

Call it man pride, but John hated to have to ask someone for help in anything he did. Although, looking at her, John realized he would let Vanessa help him in anything she wanted to do.

"Uh, yeah. Could you go upstairs on the dresser? There are some pain pills there." Vanessa ran upstairs to grab the medicine. She came back down and got John a glass of water. He took the medicine and sat the glass in the sink. He sat down on the bar stool and chuckled to himself.

"I didn't think I would ever see you outside my door."

Vanessa smiled softly to herself as she sat down opposite him. "I didn't think I could ever get the courage to come over."

Vanessa felt self-conscious with John staring at her. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was going to say. The sound of John's voice stopped her before she had a chance.

"I heard you were at the hospital."

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't come to visit when you were actually awake."

"Why didn't you?" John's blue eyes focused solely on Vanessa.

"Fear, I guess." Vanessa kept her head down. She could only imagine how stupid she must sound to him right now.

She felt a chill go down her spine as John reached over and placed her hand in his. "Fear of what?" John didn't care if he had to wait all day; he was determined to find out what was going on Vanessa's head.

"Everything. I don't like hospitals, never did. My sister was killed in a car accident when I was 16 and ever since then, the thought of having to sit in the hospital while someone works on someone I care about is too much for me."

"I never knew about your sister."

"Not many people do. It's not something that I discuss often."

"I'm sorry." Vanessa gently squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

"So what else were you afraid of?" Vanessa took a deep breath.

"I was afraid that you might not want to see me after what happened."

John gave Vanessa a soft smile. "Beautiful, I told you to go after Dave. I wanted you to be happy and I still do. So if it meant that I had to sit there while you ran after your heart, I was cool with that."

Vanessa stood up and walked around the island. For the second time in the past few months, she was getting ready to throw her heart on the line. This time, she prayed John would grab it. She gently wrapped her arms around his necked and squeezed. She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Do you know what the funny thing is?"

"What?"

"I was already happy. I had a good job, great friends and an amazing lover. I had everything that I always wanted and I was too stupid to realize it. Dave's great, and I really was curious to see if there was anything there between the two of us; but there's not. All this time, you were the one that I needed so desperately in my life."

John was trying so hard to not get his hopes up for the second time. "Why didn't you say this before?"

Vanessa bit her lip. "It wasn't fair to keep going back and forth with you, John. I wanted you to be someone that loved you fully. It wasn't until Dave and I talked that I realized I wanted to be that someone. I wanted to be the one that rode in the car while you sang off key, and played Madden until your fingers have little indents in them. I want to be that girl John, but I don't want to hurt you." Vanessa never once broke eye contact with John. John stood back speechless. Here was the woman of his dreams, offering him everything he wanted, and couldn't think of a damn thing to say.

Vanessa took his silence as rejection. With a frown on her face, she let go of him and proceeded to walk through the door. John quickly grabbed her arm.

"Woman, where do you think you are going?"

"I figured I might go on home. I didn't mean to bother you John."

"Bother me? Hell, I have been waiting a month to hear you fucking say that and I'll be damned if I am letting you walk away from me a second time."

Vanessa couldn't control the grin on her face. "Really?"

Without saying a word, John pulled Vanessa into a kiss. Vanessa let out a soft moan as she felt her knees buckle from beneath her. John grabbed her arm and led her upstairs.

"Let's go to bed."

"But you're injured."

"Then I guess you have your work cut out for you, don't ya?" Vanessa rolled her eyes and smiled. John stopped in front of his bedroom door and turned to face Vanessa. He looked down with a serious expression on his face.

"By the way…"

"Yes?"

"I'm not a horrible singer."

* * *

_A/N: I'm turning the John/Vanessa reunion into two parts so please stay tuned._


	20. Chapter 20

_This chapter contains sexual content…_

* * *

John and Vanessa made it inside the room; never once breaking eye contact. John slowly leaned down and grabbed the back of Vanessa head as he kissed her lips. The woman of his dreams was finally offering him her heart and he was going to show his appreciation for her, broken arm or not.

Vanessa quietly moaned in his mouth while placing her hand on the side of his face. She pulled back and offered a smile.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't, now come here." John grabbed her hand and sat on the end of the bed. Vanessa sat so was straddling him. Slow, sensual kisses became fierce, passionate ones. Vanessa found herself becoming more aroused by the second. She knew if she didn't get those pajamas off John soon, she was going to explode.

She stood up and removed her shirt. Before she could even reach down to grab the waist of her pants, she let out a moan as John's tongue found his way to her nipple. With one hand placed on the side of her waist, John devoured Vanessa as she curved her back. She had to stop him before her knees buckled beneath her. She pulled away and let her pants fall to the ground. With her index finger, she instructed John to do the same.

John stood in front of her as Vanessa moved down to her knees. She kissed the inside of his thigh while she kept a firm, yet gentle grip on his shaft. She alternated kissing his thighs and licking him until her couldn't take it anymore. He gripped on to her hair for support as he felt himself ready to explode.

He moved her head back and forced her to look at him. Vanessa stared up at him with big, wide eyes. "Not yet."

He gently laid down on the bed and motioned for her to join him. She was still apprehensive about having sex, because the last thing that she wanted to know was hurt his arm any worse than it already was. One look in his lust-filled eyes quickly made her change her mind. Climbing on top of him, she made sure not to put all of her body weight on top of him.

She kissed his lips as she slowly guided him inside her. They let their bodies move slowly to the sounds of the rain outside. She sat up and started to slowly ride him, keeping one hand on his stomach as she stared into his eyes. Vanessa was not a stranger to having sex, but she had to admit, this was the most intense thing that she had ever experienced in her life. She felt her walls tightening, but she never broke contact. When she couldn't take it anymore, she leaned her head back and let out a scream. Moments later, John followed.

Vanessa slowly got off John and laid down next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. John softly kissed the top of Vanessa head.

"No more running?"

"No more running."

John stroked the back of Vanessa's hair as he got ready to go bed with the rising of the sun.

* * *

The ringing of John's house phone was a sign that last night hadn't been a dream. When he woke to answer his phone, he found it hard to move. Not because of his arm, but because the brown haired beauty lying on top of him. John smiled to himself as he reached over to grab the phone, all the while trying not to wake Vanessa.

"Hello?"

"What the hell are you whispering for? Don't tell me that you are still sleep. Don't forget your ass got to be back on the road soon, so don't get too comfy with all this sleeping in and shit."

"Steph, can I call you back?"

"No you can't call me back!!! This is important."

"What's up?"

"We can't find Vanessa. We think she might be mad at us because of some of things that we said to her last night. We went to apologize this morning and her car wasn't there. When Dave used his key, we realized she was no where to found and I was just wondering if you seen her." John looked down at Vanessa who was starting to stir in her sleep. John wasn't sure if Vanessa wanted everyone to know that she had been her, so he opted to lie.

"Nope. Haven't seen her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. But if I see her, I'll tell her that you are worried." John said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. He looked down to see Vanessa staring at him.

"Morning, beautiful."

"Mmm, morning."

"That was Stephanie. The gang went to your house this morning and you weren't there."

"Did you tell them I was here?"

John shook his head as he grabbed a piece of her hair. "No, I figured you can let them know."

Vanessa nodded and stood up. She headed to the bathroom to freshen up and came back out wearing one of John's old T-shirts.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

John gasped and clutched his hand to his heart. "You're going to cook for me?"

"Keep on." Vanessa warned. John laughed and walked over to the bathroom.

"Whatever you have a taste for." Vanessa let her mind drift to the double meaning of that statement. She quickly shook her head and headed downstairs before she did something else.

After breakfast, Vanessa went out to her car and grabbed her phone. She noticed there were a lot of voicemails and missed calls. She knew that she should call people back and let them know that she was alright, but she couldn't bring herself to do that right now.

Going back in the house, she curled up on the couch next to John, laying her head on his shoulder. John was flicking through the music channels as Vanessa stopped him.

"Wait. Keep it here. I love this song."

John rolled his eyes. "Are you serious, Ness?"

"Just shut up and listen to the words." Vanessa softly sang along with Taylor Dayne.

_I wasn't searching  
To end this hurting  
But out of nowhere  
You made me feel  
I cried about it  
I lied about it  
And tired to doubt  
This could be real  
You've touched me far too much  
I'm letting go of all the pain  
I'm into you in every way  
_

_Send me a lover  
Someone to believe in  
Please send me someone I can hold  
Baby now  
Send me a lover  
A new beginning  
Someone to take away the cold  
And give me back  
What I've been missing  
All the love that lays and waits inside your heart  
_

_It still astounds me  
The way you found me  
It's almost too good  
To be true  
From our first meeting  
I had the feeling  
The rest of my life  
I'd spend with you  
I can't just turn my back  
On everything I've heard you say  
I'm into you in every way _

I thought that love was only a word  
I'd never feel  
All the passion I hold inside  
Was simply just a dream  
Out of your heart you gave to me  
I know it's real  
And I've fallen  
So in love with you

Vanessa turned and glanced at John. "Still wanna roll your eyes at the song?"

John thought for a moment and then leaned down and kissed Vanessa with so much passion that she dropped the remote. He pulled back and winked.

"Just a little."


	21. Chapter 21

_There are only two more chapters left to this story. I must thank everyone that reviewed and supported this story. Thank you guys so much. I hope you like the new ones that I will be starting soon. Enough blabbing…here you go._

* * *

_5 years later…_

"Why does it seem like every time I piss you off, I end up in some handicap, first blood match?"

"Why is it that every time I turn around you are pissing me off?"

"Having two of your best friends work in the writing department is not fair, Trisha."

"Stop bitching, Orton." Randy and Trish stood in front of John's house, getting ready to walk in. A couple of days ago, some misplaced remarks from Randy had him sleeping on the couch and having a handicap match with Paul and John. The couple had been married for a little over two years and if they didn't kill each other; they might have a chance at happily ever after. Vanessa always teased the two for being the in-ring power couple of the WWE. Stephanie and Paul were the backstage power couple. Trish had left wrestling for awhile to try and concentrate on other projects, but she found herself missing the crowd too much. Within a year, she was back and better than ever. The fans can't seem to get enough of Trish and due to the on-screen pairing of her and Randy; Randy was finally a babyface. He went on to hold the title twice more in the past few years and he was now at the top of his game.

"One of these days, Trish, one of these days." Randy opened up the front door and proceeded to head towards the kitchen where he heard commotion.

"Keep on Orton and you will find yourself hanging from the ceiling by your ball sack." Trish walked past him and opened the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. Randy grabbed her by her waist and pulled her back.

"You know you love me." Trish rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the grin on her face. She let Randy kiss her neck while she let a soft moan.

"Jesus Christ, I don't want to see that shit in my house."

Trish stuck her tongue out at John Cena as she moved over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't be jealous."

"You're right; that must be my problem." John replied sarcastically.

Trish grabbed a bag of chips and started putting them in a bowl. "Where is everyone?"

John shrugged. "I figure on their way. Hey Orton, make yourself useful and grab a plate of meat."

John and Randy went outside as Trish started setting up the appetizers. Trish looked out the window and shook her head. John and Randy had decided to use the barbeque utensils as weapons. They were currently chasing each other around the grill.

"Hello, hello, hello?"

"In the kitchen." Stephanie and Paul walked through the kitchen with 5-year old Aurora and 2 year old Shawn in tow. Paul set down the case of beer as each one gave Trish a hug.

"Aunt Trish!!!!" Trish reached down and picked up Shawn. Shawn was the perfect combination of both of his parents, while Aurora was Stephanie; all the way down to the bitch slap.

"Where's everyone?"

"John and Randy are in the backyard and no one else has gotten here yet." Paul nodded and headed towards the back.

Stephanie sighed and leaned on the counter. She smiled as she saw Trish interacting with Shawn. "Have you told him yet?"

"No not yet. I'm waiting for the right time. Maybe at the wedding."

"Hasn't he even noticed?"

Trish raised her eyebrows at Stephanie. "Have you met my husband?"

"Sorry. Good point."

The girls were interrupted by the arrival of Dave, Lisa, Mark, Glen, Steve, Ric, and Adam. Soon enough, half of the roster was gathered at John's house for the celebration. It was time for laughs, food, and booze. Something that these wrestlers were very good at.

* * *

Trish yelled over at John from her seat on the lounge chair.

"Hey Cena?"

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell is Nessa?" John looked around as he just now noticed that she had been missing.

"I'm right here jackass. Nice to know you were all worried about me." Vanessa walked through the backyard as everyone greeted her. She walked over to John and gave him a quick kiss.

"I was worried. I just figured that you were ok." Vanessa rolled her eyes and made her way through the crowd. There were hellos and hugs exchanged all around. She headed over towards the back table and sat down.

"What the hell took you so long, darlin'?" Mark asked while sipping his beer. Mark had retired three years prior, but he and Vanessa had remained the best of friends. They made sure to call each other at least once a day. Finally after some probing and begging from Vanessa and Sara, Mark decided to pack up and move to Florida. Mark complained that it was nothing like Texas, but deep down Vanessa knew it was starting to feel like home. Especially since all his friends were within a five mile radius. A year after Mark retired, so did Glenn. The two got together and opened a wrestling school, Brothers of Destruction wrestling. The school has been open for more than a year and the men had to stop accepting applications because of the overwhelming response.

Vanessa let out a yawn. "Last minute wedding shit. I can't wait for this to be over."

Dave nodded. "You ain't the only one." Vanessa leaned over and placed her head on Dave's shoulder. The two of them had remained their tight knit friendship and were closer than ever. Looking back, Vanessa and Dave couldn't figure out how they almost jeopardized their friendship in the first place.

Vanessa stood up and looked around. For the first time in a long, long, time, she noticed all of her friends being truly happy.

She saw Stephanie and Paul talking to Adam and a very pregnant Amy. After years of going back and forth with one another, they finally were getting ready to bring a baby into the world. Of course, Adam swore marriage was out of the question and Amy seemed ok with that.

She saw Lisa engrossed into a conversation with Jay and Chris. Lisa and Jay were able to work past their problems and had slowly become comfortable with one another again. Vanessa remembered when Lisa told her she forgot how good of a friend Jay had always been.

Trish was talking to Candice and Ashley and laughing as Shawn pushed Randy into the pool. Everyone was happy and healthy and she couldn't be more grateful.

She felt someone wrap their arms around her waist. Vanessa leaned and back and shut her eyes. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's a big day."

"Sure is."

"Can you believe it?"

"I was just trying figure out what took so long." Vanessa looked over and kissed John on the lips.

The main reason why everyone was hanging out in the backyard was because tomorrow was a very special day. Tomorrow, one of their own was getting married.


	22. Chapter 22

_Alright everyone, this is the last chapter. I am thinking about possibly doing a sequel, but it depends on if you want one or not. Please enjoy._

* * *

It was a gorgeous day in Tampa as a crowd was gathered outside to watch two of their friends exchange wedding vows. The garden area was full of wrestlers and their respective families. Vince, Linda, Shane and Marissa McMahon had even made it a point to attend. Even wrestlers who were no longer with the company and those who now wrestled somewhere else had all made it a point to be there just for this.

The bride walked down the aisle wearing a custom- made Vera Wang dress. She was normally not a big fan of dresses but even she had to admit, she looked amazing. She kept her eyes on her soon to be husband as she felt her throat tightening around her. She soon made it down the aisle and gave her hand to the man she was getting ready to spend the rest of her life with.

The ceremony was relatively short due to the fact that both parties were anxious to be married and they were ready to party. Once the vows were taken, the preacher looked at the happy couple.

"By the power vested in me, by the state of Florida, I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Dave Batista looked down at Lisa Marie Varon and smiled. They shared a long, passionate kiss to the delight of onlookers. The sound of cheers and catcalls could be heard throughout the garden. Dave kissed Lisa's hand and turned around to look at his best "woman". In true wrestling tradition, where anything and everything goes; Dave made it a point that no one but Vanessa would be by his side.

After all, it was Vanessa who got the two together. Figuring that she wanted to see all of her friends as happy as she was, she made it a point to always keep Dave and Lisa together during her wedding to John three years prior. She knew that if any man was tough enough to deal with Lisa, it would be Dave. She also knew Lisa was the only woman on the face of the earth that would scare Dave enough, that he would remain faithful. After two and a half years of dating, Dave finally popped the question, much to the delight of all there friends. Lisa was a little weary at first, due to the fact that he didn't exactly have an amazing track record with long term relationships. However, deciding it was better to follow her heart, she accepted and now here they were.

John grabbed Vanessa's hand as they walked down the ailse, following the happy couple. Vanessa had noticed that John had seemed distracted all morning, but she was determined to not let it ruin this day. She figured he would eventually tell her what was wrong. She tried not to focus on John and tried to keep all of her attention on the happy couple. Vanessa had to admit; seeing those two together fit perfectly.

Trish, Vanessa, Stephanie, Lisa, and Dawn all gathered in the limo headed towards the reception. The five ladies shared a glass of champagne and two glasses of sparkling cider. Lisa talked about how she couldn't believe that she was actually married. Stephanie reminded her that she was now officially in the club. The girls laughed the whole way to the hall.

* * *

As everyone sat around and started talking amongst themselves, Paul picked up his glass and tapped his fork on it to get everyone's attention.

"Hey. Listen up. It's now time for the maid of honor and the best woman to give their toasts, so make them good ladies."

Trish stood up first. "Lisa, you are one the most intelligent, beautiful, incredible people I have ever had the chance of knowing. Dave… I guess you're not so bad yourself." Trish threw Dave a smirk as the crowd laughed. "In all seriousness, I don't want to make this long. I just want to say that I am truly happy for the two of you. Here's to a long life of happiness, security and love."

The crowd clapped as Vanessa stood up. She gave Lisa a peck on the cheek and she grabbed a hold of Dave's hand. "This man has been my rock and my best friend for the past seven and a half years. I have seen him at his worst and at his best. I can honestly say that I have never seen him as happy as when he is looking at you, Lisa. You have made him seem somewhat human and I thank you for that. Dave, take care of her, cause there is a locker room full of divas that would happily kick your ass if you don't. I love you both." Dave gave Vanessa a gentle kiss on the lips and enveloped her in a hug.

"I love you, Ness." Dave whispered in her ear. Vanessa felt a tear coming down her cheek. "I love you too."

"Alright, enough with the sentimental bullshit, where's the beer?" Randy jumped up and took off his coat, followed by John and Paul. Vanessa and Trish made their way to the bathroom for a quick chat while everyone started gathering around the dance floor.

Trish looked at Vanessa. Her mouth held a smile but there was something about her eyes that just weren't right.

"We are supposed to be happy and you look on the verge of tears."

"Did Randy say anything to you about John being mad at me or anything?"

Trish shook her head. "No, but if he did, you and I both know Randy wouldn't tell me. Why? What's up?"

Vanessa leaned on the counter and looked in the mirror to check her makeup. "I don't know. Everything was fine last night after the party. We cleaned up, he took a shower and then all of sudden he started acting real distant. I don't know what's going on with him."

Trish gave Vanessa a hug. "Don't worry about it. Maybe it's a male-PMS thing. Let's go and get our booty dance on." Trish shook her ass causing Vanessa to laugh loudly.

The reception was going smoothly. Everyone was dancing, laughing and drinking up a storm. Vanessa put thoughts of her husband on the back burner as she focused on having a good time. Although, it didn't go unnoticed by their friends that John was doing his best to avoid her. Over at the corner of the bar, John and Randy were talking as the bartender refilled their drinks.

"When are you gonna tell her that you know?"

"Tonight. I just can't believe she wouldn't tell me. I'm supposed to be her fucking husband and I told her that I couldn't deal with her keeping shit from me."

"Calm down there, buddy. Wait and see what she has to say before you blow a fucking gasket." The two men made their way back to the dance floor as Dave demonstrated his break dancing skills causing everyone to laugh.

By 3am, the party had winded down and everyone was saying goodbye to Lisa and Dave as there were headed to the Greek Islands for their honeymoon. Lisa gave Vanessa a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Nessa. For everything. I don't think I would have got through this wedding without you. Love ya, girl."

"Love ya, too." Everyone watched as the newlyweds got in the car and drove off. The respective couples said goodbye and each headed to their own separate cars with promises of calling each other later.

* * *

Trish yawned as she got in the passenger side of the car. She was exhausted and the only thing that she wanted to do was get in the bed and sleep for the next twelve hours. She reached her hand over and grabbed Randy's hand. He looked down at her with his eyes closed and smiled.

"Tired?"

"Drained? Our bed is calling my name something serious." Randy chuckled as his wife sinked further into the seat.

"Hey Ran?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I saw you playing with Aurora yesterday. It was cute the way you were with her." Little shades of red appeared on Randy's cheeks, causing Trish to giggle. Randy pulled the car into the driveway and opened the door.

"I thought you liked the way I play with you." Trish swatted at Randy's chest as they walked in the door.

"I'm serious. I think you are going to make an amazing father one day."

"Yeah, you know, I never really wanted kids. For some reason, though, seeing Steph and Paul, it kinda changed my mind a little bit."

Trish bit her lip and crawled in Randy's lap. She gently kissed him and sucked on his bottom lip. "I'm glad you feel that way."

Randy kissed her again. "You do?"

"Sure do cause guess what?"

"What?"

"We are going to be parents." Randy jumped up, leaving Trish crashing to the floor.

"WHAT???????????"

* * *

Meanwhile, Vanessa was changing for bed trying to find a way to approach John's recent behavior. She had no idea what she had done to receive the cold shoulder, but she really wanted to find out.

John stood in the bathroom door and looked at his wife. He saw her eyebrows come together in confusion. He didn't understand why she just won't tell him. He leaned on the doorframe.

"So this is how we are going to do this." Vanessa jumped up and swung around. "Is there something that you have been meaning to tell me and you haven't yet?"

Vanessa thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No, not really."

"Nessa, I thought we agreed, no lying."

"John, I'm not lying. There is nothing that I need to tell you right now, at least not yet."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." John walked over to Vanessa keeping one hand behind his back. He leaned down and looked into his wife's eyes. He searched her eyes to tell him something. He noticed she had a slight look of fear. He reached behind his back and brought the item into full view of Vanessa's eyes. She slightly gasped as she realized that she had been caught. She raked her brain to come up with an excuse as why she had been keeping her husband in the dark about something she had found out about only four days prior.

"When were you going to tell me about this?"

Vanessa stared with wide eyes at the offending piece of evidence. In John's hand was a little white stick with two pink lines, indicting the arrival that the married couple would be anticipating in a little less than nine months.

* * *

_A/N: Ahhhhhhh...cliffhanger. I know that it is very mean of me to do this but just in case this becomes a sequel, I need to leave everyone anticipating a little more. As always, my passion is fueled by your thoughts and comments. Please let me know what you think. Thanks everyone who helped to support this story. _


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